Over 200 tea estate workers and staff members from at least two different tea gardens in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district have been found to be COVID-19 positive in the past three days, forcing the district administration to declare it a containment zone.
The Zaloni tea estate in Assam’s Dibrugarh district has been shut down after 133 people tested positive for the virus. The tea estate has been declared a containment zone, Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha said. He also added that the patients are asymptomatic at present.
“133 cases were detected at Zaloni tea estate till yesterday. All patients are asymptomatic. The tea estate has now been declared a containment zone,” Jha said. The Zaloni tea estate has been shut down.
Meanwhile, 60 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported from the Mayajan tea estate, said a government source. The district administration has shut down nearby markets as a precaution.
Top officials including the Medical Inspector of Plantations and officials from the health department have been sent to the area to take stock of the situation.
The garden hospital and the two vacant staff quarters have been turned into temporary isolation centers for the COVID-19 positive patients.
Assam’s COVID-19 tally jumped to 2,77,687 on Thursday as 4,936 people tested positive for the infection while 46 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,531.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The situation is alarming but we are prepared to deal with it.” He said that COVID management capabilities are being stepped up and a 60-bed ICU has become operational from Thursday.
Source: dnaindia.com