The measure was announced after 25 Guwahati residents with no travel history tested positive for the coronavirus.
Abhishek Saha: Amid concerns over the spread of Covid-19 in Guwahati, the Assam government will test 50,000 people in the city over the next few days and reimpose the lockdown there if a significant percentage tests positive.
The measure was announced after 25 Guwahati residents with no travel history tested positive for the coronavirus. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, at a press conference on Saturday, said goods trucks, which load and unload at over 150 godowns in and around the city, are suspected to be the originating points of the spread.
Sarma said the government wants to test a total of around 50,000 people in the city to know the extent of the spread. Among those who will be tested in this drive are people working at godowns, parking lots of trucks, petrol stations, dhabas and weigh bridges; and those detected by ASHA workers as having fever and related symptoms in the community.
People can also voluntarily get themselves tested. To enable this, 12 additional sample collecting centres will be opened from the morning of June 16.
Sarma added that if after testing the 50,000 persons, a sizable percentage turns out to be positive, then the government might consider implementing a lockdown in the city, which already has 44 containment zones.PTI
