GUWAHATI: Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has appealed to people not to spread false rumours about the current COVID-19 situation in the state, which he said was “under control”.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of a new treasury office here on Wednesday, Sarma said, “False rumours of another lockdown being on the cards have triggered panic among people. Such misinformation can be detrimental to the economic and academic environment.”
Pointing out how COVID-19 had adversely affected the economy last year, Sarma said “traders and businessmen have been asking me, out of panic, whether another lockdown would be imposed again in the wake of the reports and rumours doing the rounds.”
The health minister said the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state has not crossed 25 in the recent past, and as such, the situation was under control.
“Day before yesterday we had just seven cases in the entire state….the daily cases have been hovering between single digits and 20 per day in the entire state…so the situation is not like what the reports circulating are saying,” he said.
In regard to a couple of teachers from an English-medium school in the city getting infected by the virus, Sarma said that over the past three months, many teachers and students of Assamese medium schools have been infected and recovered.
“However, such reports never found any space in the media,” he added.
The minister said that if the COVID-19 situation were to aggravate in future, then people would be informed accordingly about the regulations.
“As of now, there is no need to panic. But yes, we would suggest that people adhere to the safety procedures of wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and getting vaccinated in due course,” he added.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, the minister said that “the Opposition has asked us why we have not taken cognizance of the COVID situation in the state now. However, they had last year pulled us up for the economic situation triggered by the COVID lockdown. So they should clarify what they want from the government – whether to impose restrictions and create panic or to treat the situation as normal”