'Guwahati to enter 14 days complete lockdown from Sunday midnight': Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam State Health and Finance Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday announced a complete lockdown in Guwahati from Sunday, June 28 midnight till July 12 due to the rapid increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in the city. The 14 days complete lockdown will be strictly imposed in the Kamrup Metropolitan area, Sarma said while addressing the media.

The government has also imposed a curfew across the state from 7 PM to 7 AM starting from Friday.

During the Complete 14 days lockdown only medical stores will be allowed to function and rest everything else will be closed, Sarma asserted. "No grocery stores will be allowed to open, It will be a strict lockdown", he added.  All government and private offices, businesses, shops, etc will remain closed including the industries, the minister declared.

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Banks will remain functional amid lockdown

The health minister further said that banks will function with minimum staff. Whereas the hotels which are being used for quarantine purpose or to accommodate airline staffs will also be functional during the strict lockdown. State Secretariat and Directorate level offices will also be working with minimum staff, he added. 

Different essential departments like Power, health, fire, defence and police will be exempted from the lockdown along with the media, Sarma informed.

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Weekend lockdown

No exemptions will be given to grocery shops and vegetable markers during the first seven days of the lockdown. During the weekend that is Saturday and Sunday, all municipalities and towns of the state will remain closed. This will come into effect from June 27 Saturday and will continue till the Covid-19 pandemic is over, Sarma said.

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COVID-19 situation in Assam

The total number of Coronavirus cases in Assam stands at 6,646 as of Friday out of which 2,603 are active cases. 4,033 patients have recovered from the lethal infection and 10 people have succumbed to the infection. 

The state has the highest recovery rate in the country and the lowest mortality rate. Most of the cases are being reported from the city of Guwahati. 10,617 samples tested so far in Guwahati as 762 Covid-19 positive cases were found in the city from June 15 till date.

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