GUWAHATI: Security personnel during their patrolling duty to ensure that people follow the COVID-induced lockdown protocol
Assam Health Minister Keshab Mahanta on Tuesday said that as per the revised COVID-19 SOP for the state, the inter-district movement of passengers has been relaxed except in Kamrup Metropolitan District and inter-district movement of passengers. has been permitted. He said the new guidelines, which also allow opening of final year classes of technical education, will be effective from 5 am on Wednesday till further orders. These orders will be applicable across the state.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that in view of the improvement in the overall COVID situation in the state, the decision to relax the SOP was taken in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on Monday evening.
“The number of new COVID-19 cases is coming down in the state. But, the situation in Guwahati is not satisfactory. We are keeping a close watch,” he said.
As per the revised guidelines, all shops, business establishments, offices, banks will remain open till 6 pm and there will be a curfew from 7 pm to 5 am.
Hotels, resorts, bars will also be allowed to remain open till 6 pm, although cinema halls will remain closed.
The minister said that inter-district movement of private passenger vehicles has been allowed, although entry and exit from Kamrup Metropolitan District, under which Guwahati comes, will remain suspended.
The movement of goods-carrying vehicles had already been allowed and public transport between districts was suspended.
The minister said that the odd-even rule for plying of vehicles has been removed.
With regard to the reopening of educational institutions, Mahant said that the final year classes for MBBS, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and BSc and GNM Nursing courses will resume from Wednesday.
“Students must be fully vaccinated to attend classes,” he said.
The minister also said that public gatherings would be allowed in open spaces with a maximum seating capacity of 200 people and auditoriums with 50 per cent seating capacity, and that all attendees should be fully vaccinated, with the organizers to ensure compliance.
For marriages, funerals etc., the number of people attending has been increased to 25 by the new guidelines.
The Mahant said that iconic religious places have also been allowed to open for devotees with the permission of 20 visitors per hour, while for other religious places the number of devotees has been fixed at 10.
He said that the namghars (Vaishnava places of worship) would be open for devotees with 50 per cent capacity.
He further said that women government employees with children below the age of three years would be allowed to work from home. Earlier, this exemption was given to people with children below the age of five years.
A total of 758 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Monday, taking the total number of infections to 5,79,899, while the death toll has reached 5,502 with 10 deaths in the last 24 hours .
The recovery rate from Kovid-19 in the state is 97.49 percent.
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