Covid-19: Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur announces lockdown

GUWAHATI: Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur have announced a lockdown as a precaution against COVID-19.
The lockdown in Assam will start from 6pm on Tuesday and continue till March 31. In Meghalaya, it will start on March 24 and continue till March 29. In Tripura, the lockdown will be from Tuesday afternoon (2 pm) till March 31, while Manipur will be shutdown from Monday till March 31.

With this, all the seven states in Northeast will be in a lockdown for various periods. Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland had announced lockdown from Sunday.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while stating that there is no case of COVID-19 in Assam, said anyone found violating the lockdown order will be imprisoned for six months for the first offence and for up to two years for the second under different provisions of the Indian Penal code (IPC).

“In religious sites, not more than three persons will assemble at a time. We will not allow more than three persons at temples or mosques,” Sarma said. “Deputy commissioners have been asked to identify hostels and hotels that can be used for treatment of COVID-19 patients. In Guwahati, if required, we will convert Mahendra Mohan Choudhary hospital into a hospital for coronavirus treatment. In Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati, a hospital has been readied for coronavirus treatment. In Barpeta medical college, we have asked the doctors to defer elective surgeries,” he said.

Stating that the state administration was saddened by people stepping out of their houses during the nation-wide ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday to clap in appreciation of the work done by health workers, Sarma said, “Do not turn this period into a festival, for this is a very dangerous virus and aged people over 60 are highly vulnerable to its attack. During the ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday, while clapping, some people stepped outside from homes in large number. This has saddened us. See how an entire generation has been affected in Italy.”

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a video conference (VC) with the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to review the situation in the state. He asked the officials to enforce the lockdown and ensure all essential commodities are made available to the public.

He also asked them to keep a watch on traders so that there is ‘no hoarding’ of essential items and there is no spike in prices of essential commodities. Sonowal said people should maintain self-quarantine. He asked the DCs to take the help of gaon burahs, line sardars at tea garden areas and other organisations to generate awareness among the public and make them understand the severity of the virus and the rate at which it spreads.

He also informed them that rapid response teams have been constituted in all the districts to deal with the outbreak. He asked the DCs to depute senior officers to monitor the situation round the clock.

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb declared a lockdown in the state until March 31 after a cabinet meeting.

“The lockdown will be effective from Tuesday afternoon (2 pm). All essential services will remain operational and vehicles associated with the health and emergency services will be allowed to operate. All other vehicles will be controlled,” he told the media.

The Tripura Assembly curtailed its five-day budget session to just two days and adjourned sine-die on Monday after approving the budget.

The members of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist unanimously decided to suspend the remaining sessions of the Assembly.

Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong announced that the state will be put under lockdown from March 24 to March 29.