Assam Golaghat district bans selling and transportation of vegetables to check COVID-19 spread

Assam agriculture minister Atul Bora on Thursday said the state government has indefinitely banned selling and transportation of all vegetables in Golaghat after eight COVID-19 cases were reported from the district. Addressing a press conference here, Bora said the order has been issued to prevent further spread of the deadly virus in the district.

"Golaghat produces sufficient quantity of vegetables. Traders go out of the district to sell vegetables and many come here for the agricultural produce. We have to stop the spread of COVID-19. That is why, the administration has banned entry and exit of vegetable vendors," he said.

In an order issued on Wednesday, the Golaghat additional district magistrate prohibited "sell/transportation of vegetable" to ensure strict compliance of social distancing protocol. Himanta Biswa Sarma had said a total of eight persons from Golaghat district tested positive on Wednesday.

These patients are being treated in an isolation ward of Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital, Bora said. "We have identified a total of 45 persons who had come in contact with these patients. Four of them have been quarantined at the facility where the patients are admitted, and others have been isolated at different places," he said.

At present, there are 260 isolation beds across five hospitals in Golaghat and the government is trying to augment the capacity, Bora said. The Dibrugarh administration in Assam had on Wednesday indefinitely banned entry and exit of all vegetable carriers into the district in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Markets, offices and other establishements were mostly closed and vehicles were off the road across Assam, as the 21 -day nationwide lockdown entered its ninth day on Thursday. People, at many places, ventured out of their homes, defying the restriction order, which prompted the state police to take action against violators.

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