Schools in Assam to open in phases

Guwahati: Assam may be the first state in the country which is prepared to open its schools and colleges in a phased manner. Indicating this on Friday, Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state is now ready to open the schools, colleges and malls as transmission of Covid was now restricted among those returning to state.

Assam may be the first state in the country which is prepared to open its schools and colleges in a phased manner. State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while inaugurating the first 200bed Covid-19 hospital on Friday, said that the government is ready to open schools, colleges and malls as transmission of Covid was now restricted among those guest workers and stranded people returning to the state.

“We have succeeded in checking the spread of the pandemic in the society. People in general are following the Covid guidelines proactively, wearing mask and maintaining social distance as well. Our awareness campaign has yielded positive response so we are prepared to restore normalcy,” said the minister. He, however, said that the government wants to continue with night curfew with certain changes in timing.

He clarified that they are waiting for the direction of Central government on extension of lockdown. “We have informed our opinion and preparedness but final decision will be taken by the Central government to which we will be following,” said the minister, adding that schools and colleges would be opened in a phased manner.

“In first phase we will allow schooling for class X and XII followed by IX and XI. Once people get back to normal, we can allow the normal functioning of the schools and colleges. In our state people are following the Covid guideline so we don’t see much problem in it,” said the minister who on Friday asserted that the state has developed the capacity of dealing with at least 5,000 Covid-19 positive cases.

Meanwhile, Assam on Friday reported 30 new cases that took the total number of positive cases to 910. Among the 30 new cases, 16 are from Golaghat, six from Karimganj, two each from Lakhimpur, Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karbi Anglong. Assam has now 800 active cases, and 103 persons have recovered so far. Four persons have died due to coronavirus.