Night curfew imposed in Assam till May 1 amid COVID surge

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Assam government on Tuesday imposed a night curfew across the state from 8 pm to 5 am. The order comes into immediate effect and will remain in place till May 1.

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Assam government on Tuesday imposed a night curfew across the state from 8 pm to 5 am till May 1.

A circular issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority read, "The situation of COVID-19 in Assam has been reviewed and it has been observed that there has been a rapid increase in the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state and therefore, night curfew needs to be imposed in all the districts of Assam, except for essential and emergency activities/services as an emergency measure for the well being and safety of the people.

"And therefore, in the exercise of the powers under section 22 (2) h of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Chairperson, Executive Committee of the State Disaster Management Authority, Assam, hereby directs that there shall be a total ban on movement of individuals from 8 pm to 5 am daily, " said the order.

The order exempts officials of Government of India, the government of Assam, judicial officers, officials of courts of Assam on the production of valid ID card, all private medical personnel, and other hospital services, pregnant women and patients for getting medical/health services, persons coming from/going to airports/railway stations/ISBTs allowed to travel on the production of a valid ticket, officials related to the functioning of offices of Diplomats of various countries on production of valid ID card, electronic and print media.

The order further stated that there will be no restriction on inter-state/intra-state movement, transportation of essential/non-essential goods, adding that no separate permission /e-pass will be required for such movements.

There is also no restriction on the movement of persons related to commercial and private establishments providing essential services/commodities, as per the order.

According to the state health bulletin, Assam reported 3,137 new COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths, and 17,764 active cases as of April 26, 2021.

Amidst the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India reported 3.23 lakh fresh coronavirus cases and over 2,700 related deaths in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,23,144 new COVID-19 cases, 2771 related deaths, and 2,51,827 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total active cases to 28,82,204, as per the health ministry update on Tuesday morning.

The total count of positive cases now stands at 1,76,36,307, including 1,97,894 deaths and 1,45,56,209 recoveries.

As many as 28,09,79,877 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to April 26, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed. Of these 16,58,700 samples were tested on Monday. The total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered stand at 14,52,71,186.

( With inputs from ANI )