Assam issues fresh Covid-19 restrictions; essential shops to shut at 11 am

Amid surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, the Assam government on Saturday issued fresh directives that will be imposed from May 16 until further orders.

"In continuation of the order dated 12 May 2021, and in the exercise of the powers, conferred under Section 22(2) (h) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the undersigned, in his capacity as Chairperson, State Executive Committee of the State Disaster Management Authority, Assam, hereby issues the following directives which will be applicable in respect of urban areas and adjacent areas within 5 km radius from the periphery of municipal corporation / municipal boards/ revenue towns and shall come into force with effect from 5 AM of May 16, 2021 until further orders", read the order copy by the government.

All shops and commercial establishments shall shut down at 11 AM on all days.

All vehicles other than government vehicles and those exempted will be allowed to ply in accordance with an odd-even formula to be decided by the jurisdictional District Disaster Management Authority between 5 AM to 12 noon. However, this restriction shall not apply to personal vehicles used for medical emergencies.

"There shall be a total ban on the movement of individuals from 12 noon to 5 AM daily except for exemptions. The above order is issued to further strengthen the containment of the spread of COVID-19", read the order.

Assam reported 5347-new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hours, as per the state health bulletin on Saturday. Assam currently has over 44,008-active COVID-19 cases. The positivity rate stands at 8.26 per cent with 64,701 tests being conducted in the last 24-hours.