Special Representative
GUWAHATI, April 13 2021: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal Tuesday stressed on the need to create micro-containment zones as well as conduct extensive tests to combat the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the state where positive cases have multiplied everyday.
In a video conference with deputy commissioners (DCs), joint directors of health and other stakeholders associated with Covid-19 management, Sonowal asked the DCs to focus on creating micro-containment zones coupled with extensive testing to prevent a major health crisis triggered by the pandemic.
“While the second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the daily surge of positive cases in some parts of the country, Assam has not fully witnessed the spike of positive cases till date,” the chief minister said.
He however asked the DCs to enforce all precautionary measures to help their respective districts to check the spike in positive cases.
Sonowal also asked the DCs to ramp up testing facilities and adhere to the “test, track and treat” protocol.
He said that micro containment zones would help contain the local transmission while timely testing would help manage the infection clinically.
The chief minister further asked the DCs to take all steps to make the Prime Minister’s call for ‘Tika Utsav’ a success.
“Inoculation drives in all the districts should be intensified to all eligible people,” he said.
At the same time, Sonowal asked the DCs to use their men and machinery to ramp up tests.
“Besides important locations like railway stations, airports, other places of concentration where people generally converge should be identified for the testing facilities,” he told the DCs.
Sonowal also asked the joint directors of health to go for vigorous contract tracing and try to achieve the target of at least one lakh tests per day across the state.
“Existing infrastructure like Covid-19 care centres, isolation beds, oxygen cylinders, etc., to face any exigency should be ramped up,” he said.