GUWAHATI: Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday warned “punitive measures” against people flouting quarantine protocols even as three COVID-patients who fled from hospital were caught by police in Nalbari and Hojai on Tuesday night.
“Last night, three COVID patients, Hamidul Ahmed and Shajahan Ali of Nalbari, and Md Saidul Alam of Hojai broke the law and fled to their homes. Nalbari police caught hold of two at Bhangonmari char and admitted them to hospital, while Hojai police caught hold of the other and he has been MMC Hospital today,” Sarma told reporters here on Wednesday.
He further informed that two persons – Akbar Ali and Inamul Husssain from Chaygaon, who tried to “escape” quarantine at the Sarusajai quarantine centre, were caught and taken to the Bamunigaon quarantine centre near Boko on Wednesday.
“However, two more persons from Boko – Rahul Ali and Saddam Hussain – who had come from Kolkata are still missing from the Sarusajai quarantine centre and we have directed Kamrup police to nab them at the earliest,” Sarma said.
The minister warned that such acts would attract punitive measures once their treatment or quarantine period was over.
The developments come at a time when the state has been stressing on strict adherence to quarantine protocols in a bid to prevent any possibility of community transmission, particularly in the rural areas.
“Village committees have been notified and we are mobilising citizens groups also to ensure that the home quarantine protocols are strictly adhered to. This would mean that the entire house where the person is under quarantine would have to be treated as a containment zone. We believe that only with peoples’ support can we can make home quarantine successful and stop community transmission of the virus,” Sarma said.