GUWAHATI, May 5: A tea garden in Upper Assam has been shut down after being declared a containment zone in the wake of COVID-19 positive cases being detected there on Wednesday.
The Dibrugarh district administration has declared Zaloni tea estate a containment zone and shut down the garden after 133 COVID-19 positive cases were reported over the past two days, particularly after contact tracing, sources said on Thursday.
Two villages, Buri Khowang of Khowang and a village at Merbeel were also declared containment zones after detection of people infected with the virus.
The circle officer of Tengakhat revenue circle along with medical inspector of plantations and officials from the health department have already taken stock of the situation in the garden.
Meanwhile, the garden hospital and two vacant staff quarters have been converted into temporary isolation centres for the COVID positive patients.
Several organisations in the area have been demanding vaccination in the tea garden areas where COVID cases spread faster given that the workers in the gardens reside in close proximity.
The deputy commissioner cum chairman of district disaster management authority, Dibrugarh has ordered closure of all leased weekly haats/markets under Tengakhat Development block with immediate effect.
The deputy commissioner also instructed the concerned circle officers/ block development officers to take steps to close all such markets in their respective areas as and when needed.
“We have started vaccination drive at Zaloni tea estate from Wednesday. At least 50 beneficiaries were vaccinated in the tea estate. We have already declared thetea estate as a containment zone,” Dibrugarh deputy commissioner, Pallav Gopal Jha said.
On Wednesday, 380 COVID-19 positive cases were reported from Dibrugarh district.