COVID-19: Assam sends buses to bring back students stuck in Kota amid nationwide lockdown

After the UP Government brought its students back from Kota, the Assam government has deployed 18 buses to bring 320 students from the state who are stuck in Kota due to the lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"320 students are being brought back to Assam in 18 AC sleeper buses; likely to reach Guwahati on Saturday night or Sunday morning," said an official at the Assam State Transport Corporation.

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Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the state will allow movement between districts from April 25 to April 27, as per the guideline from Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Sarma said that people stuck in different districts will be issued passes by district administration through an electronic medium. However, only select people, with e-passes will be allowed to travel.

Assam government offices reopened on Tuesday with 33 per cent employees on duty to operationalise government functioning amid the continuation of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown till May 3 next.

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The employees reported for duty adhering to lockdown protocols and social distancing norms. They were also seated at a distance of six-feet from each other, officials said. The protocol of sanitisation and maintenance of social distancing at the offices as prescribed in the National Directives for COVID-19 Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order dated April 15 was being followed scrupulously, they said.

In Guwahati, the employees were transported to and from their offices in buses provided by the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).

As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Assam has a total of 36 positive COVID-19 cases of which, 19 patients have recovered and one patient has died due to the disease.