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User:Tanyasingh/Government Response Assam

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I have created this page to edit this section from the main page COVID-19 pandemic in Assam[1]




Government responses[edit]

Though several people in the state have been found COVID-19 positive, there is no need to panic as the health department is prepared to deal with the situation and all patients are being provided with the best medical treatment.

– Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal during interaction with the media, 7 April 2020.[2]

Assam's fight against the novel coronavirus has been largely spearheaded by the state's Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.[3]


Health services and Quarantine strategy[edit]

The Government of Assam makes compulsory quarantine of 14 days for people coming from outside the state or country.[4] Quarantine centre with 700 beds were set up at the Sarusojai Sports Complex and an apartment had been rented nearby by the govt. where at least 200 doctors can stay. Isolation wards of 200 beds in Sonapur Hospital, ICU ward of 30 beds in Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, 150 beds at Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and 50 beds in Jorhat Medical College and Hospital[5] were set up by the government.[6][7][8] A fully-functional, air-conditioned 236-bedded COVID-19 unit at GMCH, including 50 ICUs and 186 wards was also set up by the government.[9] Quarantine wards of 1500 beds were also set up for Assam Police Personnel. 30 doctors and around 200 nurses have also been kept exclusively for the police personnel.[10] Nearly 5 lakh people have been screened across Assam, of which 36,818 passengers have been screened at six airports in the state.[11]

Containment strategy[edit]

On 15 March, the government of Assam shut down all educational institutions, cinema halls, multiplexes, gyms and swimming pools.[12] The Assam government has directed the schools to provide students with course materials and short video lectures on topics in the syllabi through WhatsApp to prevent learning gaps during the closure of educational institutes.[13] Even all the students of Higher Secondary first year of 2019–20 academic year have been promoted to second year without any examination.[14] The Assam government also directed private schools to waive 50 per cent of fees for the month of April. The schools have also been directed not to increase fees during lockdown and to pay teaching and non-teaching staff without a pay cut.[15] The government also launched a local educational television channel Gyan Brikshya for classes I to XII, to cover the learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.[16]

On 15 April, the government imported 50,000 PPE kits from China and became the first and only state who has independently imported the kits from China.[17]

Coronavirus information poster in Assamese

Schemes and programmes launched[edit]

On 27 April, Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced a life insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to journalists.[18] The state government also ensured to provide free COVID-19 testing for reporters.[19] The government is also going to give Rs. 2000/month for three months to those people of Assam who are not returning to the state during lockdown. The government also gave $2000 in two installments to Assamese people stranded abroad.[20] The government also gave Rs. 25000 to each cancer, kidney & heart patients in first installment and also gave another Rs. 25000 in second installment to the same patients stranded outside the state during the COVID-19 lockdown.[21] To support the folk artistes/Lok Silpis of Assam in these challenging times, the government has decided to provide Rs. 2000 per month to each folk artistes for 3 months.[22]

The CM also ordered to issue job cards to all the migrant workers returning to the state from different parts of the country.[23] Along with jobs, the government is also going to give free food grains for 3 months to migrant workers returning to the state.[24] Further, the state government increases the daily wage from Rs. 182 to Rs. 202 of the workers under MGNREGA in order to provide relief to the migrant labourers who are returning to their home state.[25] The Assam government further decided to provide 5 kg rice per month to all those poor families who do not have a ration card.[26]

The government has also launched a scheme called Dhanwantari to make home delivery of locally unavailable medicines amid lockdown restrictions but later limited to quarantined people only due to relaxations in Lockdown rules.[27] The government has also allocated Rs. 20,000 towards the expenditure in quarantining each person arriving from outside the state and also warned people not to violate quarantine rules otherwise a criminal case of non-bailable offence will be filed against those violators.[28][29] In order to show gratitude towards the frontline warriors of COVID-19, the state government provided 14-days quarantine to all the doctors and nurses working round the clock attending COVID-19 positive patients at Taj Vivanta 5-star hotel.[30]

Public awareness[edit]

The Government of Assam has started a YouTube channel for spreading awareness among public regarding the precautions to be taken against COVID-19.[31] Also, the government has launched a mobile application called COVAAS for users to get information and updates regarding the COVID-19 in Assam. The app also incorporates application of lockdown epass, live help desk and many more.[32] The government with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC) of Assam, has launched an app called COVID Suraksha to monitor the status of each home quarantined persons.[33][34]

The Government evacuated 391 students of Assam, who were stranded at Kota, Rajasthan. All the students have been kept under quarantine for 14 days.[35] The govt with the help of government of Gujarat, also brought 104 students of Assam stranded in different parts of Gujarat.[36]

During Lockdown 3.0, Assam government has barred people above 65 years and children below 12 years from venturing out of their homes except for medical reasons. Female employees, both in private and public sectors, with children below 5 years of age, are also barred by the govt. not to attend office.[37] Also the Government strictly imposed curfew across all zones in the state from 6 pm to 6 am and all movement have been restricted during this period except emergency services like medical services, fire services and many more.[38]

The government of Assam also deployed 1,000 medical teams including doctors, nurses, medical staffs and health workers to around 25000 villages across the state to check people suffering from seasonal fever. The government also deployed Asha workers and MPW to monitor the home quarantine patients.[39][40] The government of Assam makes it mandatory to wear mask in public and strongly warned people to follow the order otherwise a fine of Rs 500 (6.60 $) will be charged from the violators.[41]

  1. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Assam. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "26 COVID-19 positive but no need to panic: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal". Republic. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ Simantik Dowerah (5 April 2020). "Led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam medical fraternity takes a leap of faith in fight against COVID-19". Firstpost. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. ^ "14-DAY MANDATORY QUARANTINE FOR ANYONE COMING FROM OUTSIDE". News Live. 11 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. ^ "HIMANTA BISWA SARMA INAUGURATES 50-BEDDED ICU AT JMCH". News Live. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ^ Ratnadip Choudhury (26 March 2020). "700-Bed Quarantine Center In Assam In A Week". NDTV. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. ^ Prabin Kalita (4 April 2020). "Sarusajai gets first batch of coronavirus suspects". Times of India. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. ^ Pratyush Deep Kotoky (28 March 2020). "Assam building 700-bed quarantine facility at Guwahati". Sunday Guardian Live. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  9. ^ "55 new COVID-19 cases in Assam, total rises to 935". Republic. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. ^ "1500 Separate Quarantine Beds Arranged for Assam Police Personnel Working Against COVID-19". G plus. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  11. ^ "3 more test Covid-19 positive in Assam; cases rise to 62". Republic. 10 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Assam shuts down schools, malls, gyms till March 29; no confirmed cases, says official". The Hindu. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Assam asks schools to continue teaching via WhatsApp during shutdown". Republic. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  14. ^ Kangkan Kalita (9 April 2020). "Assam board to promote class 11 students without exam due to covid-19 pandemic". Times of India. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Assam govt directs private schools to waive 50% fees". The Indian Express. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launches educational channel 'Gyan Brikshya'". The Sentinel. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  17. ^ Prabin Kalita (15 April 2020). "Assam gets 50,000 kits, imported independently from Guangzhou". Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Assam govt announces Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for journalists reporting on COVID-19". Republic. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  19. ^ Suchitra Karthikeyan (22 April 2020). "Rajasthan, Assam to test journalists for COVID-19 after 53 Mumbai journalists test +ve". Republic. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Assam transfers 2,000 each to 86,000 people stranded outside State". The Hindu. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  21. ^ Bikash Singh (14 April 2020). "Assam to provide financial aid to those stranded outside the state: Himanta Biswa Sarma". Economic Times. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Key Decisions Taken In Assam Council Of Ministers Meet". Pratidin Time. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Assam to provide work to returning migrant labourers under MGNREGA". Republic. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Assam's returning migrant workers will get food grains for 3 months". Northeast Now. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  25. ^ "HIMANTA BISWA SARMA ANNOUNCES INCREASE OF MGNREGA WAGES FROM RS 182 TO RS 202". News Live. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  26. ^ "ASSAM GOVT TO PROVIDE 5 KG RICE TO FAMILIES WITHOUT RATION CARD". News Live. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  27. ^ "DHANWANTARI SCHEME WILL COVER ONLY QUARANTINED PEOPLE". News Live. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Cost of quarantine in Assam: 20,000 per head". Times of India. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  29. ^ "CRIMINAL CASE OF NON-BAILABLE OFFENCE AGAINST THOSE JUMPING QUARANTINE". News Live. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  30. ^ "DOCTOR, NURSES TO SPEND QUARANTINE AT TAJ VIVANTA". News Live. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Covid-19 Assam". YouTube. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  32. ^ "ASSAM CM LAUNCHES COVAAS MOBILE APP". News Live. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  33. ^ "App to check on home-quarantined, teams". The Telegraph. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  34. ^ Prabin Kalita (6 June 2020). "Assam to geofence people to enforce strict home quarantine". Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  35. ^ Manjiri Chitre (27 April 2020). "391 Assam students return home from Kota, to remain under 14-days quarantine". Republic. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  36. ^ "SONOWAL, HIMANTA BISWA SARMA THANK GUJARAT CM FOR TRANSIT OF ASSAM STUDENTS". News Live. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  37. ^ "People above 65 years barred from lockdown relaxation in Assam". The Hindu. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  38. ^ Bikash Singh (3 May 2020). "Assam to ease lockdown from Monday; curfew to remain in force from 6 pm to 6 am". Economic Times. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  39. ^ "ASSAM HEALTH WORKERS TO VISIT OVER 25,000 VILLAGES FOR SAMPLE TESTING". News Live. 7 May 2020.
  40. ^ Hemanta Kumar Nath (6 May 2020). "Assam govt forms 1,000 medical teams to identify potential Covid-19 cases". India Today. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  41. ^ "Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks in public, financial aid to returning students and more". The Indian Express. 7 May 2020.
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