GUWAHATI: The situation in Guwahati has become complicated due the rise in COVID-19 positive cases. The city is witnessing a growing number of COVID-19 positive cases with people whose travel history or source of infection is not known. The question arises – is there a community spread in Guwahati? According to the Assam Health department the city’s business hub, Fancy Bazar has turned into a COVID-19 hotbed.
According to Assam Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, apart from Guwahati, there were no cases of community spread in other parts of the state. Patients who were identified with COVID-19 infection in the city have some kind of connection to the market.
As per reports there are probably more COVID-19 cases inside the business centre. Thirty seven persons who tested positive for COVID-19 had a direct or indirect Fancy Bazar connection. These people had no travel history and tested COVID-19 positive after they visited Fancy Bazar for different purposes. The picture that has come up is Coronavirus is present in the commercial centers of the Northeast.
An employee of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Fancy Bazar has recently been tested positive. Sumitra Bharali, an employee of the Evening Branch in Fancy Bazar, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. It is pertinent to note that all the three employees of the State Bank’s Regional Head Office have already been tested positive for COVID-19.
Vijay Shankar Das, Chief Editor, Regional Head Office and Niva Doloi of New Guwahati Branch have also been infected. In addition, two more people from the regional head office have got their swab tests done for COVID-19, but the results have not been released yet.
In the meantime, the CBI office at Garhchuk in Guwahati has also been closed due to Coronavirus infection. One of the CBI official’s wife gave birth to a child on June 22 at the CBI Colony in Guwahati. In addition to the newborn, the mother is also infected with Coronavirus now.
A large number of Coronavirus positive cases have been detected in different parts of the city in the last 48 hours. These patients do not have a travel history, although the source of the infection is unclear.
People related to Fancy Bazar, Maligaon, Pandu, Fatashil, Dhirenpara, Machkhowa etc. areas are being tested positive for COVID-19 as these areas are known as coronavirus hotspots of the city. This is mainly due to the fact that the social transmission in the city has intensified.
Even the most recent incidents involving several constables of the Assam Police testing positive for COVID-19 have made this possibility even clearer. On Tuesday, after quarantining a number of police personnel at the Panbazar police station, a sub-inspector of the transport department, Moscow Saikia, was tested positive for Coronavirus.
According to Assam Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, 144 people have been identified as infected at 12 screening camps in Guwahati since June 15. According to the health department, about 100 people tested positive for coronavirus in the city on June 21. The number of coronavirus cases has increased across the state, though the growth rate in Guwahati is abnormal. In such a scenario, the situation in the city is likely to deteriorate further.
