Assam makes COVID test compulsory for air/train passengers from Mumbai, Bengaluru
Assam health minister Himanta Sarma's 'No need to wear mask coronavirus has gone' comment draws flak
Guwahati, Apr 4: A day after Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that there is no COVID in the state and hence no need to wear mask now,the health and family welfare department Sunday issued fresh notifications for mandatory testing of air and train passengers coming to the state from Mumbai and Bengaluru to check the spread of virus.
Separate orders have been issued for air and train passengers and the rates for COVID testing by the department's Principal Secretary Samir Sinha.
The minister had on Saturday said that there is no COVID in Assam and so there is no need to wear a mask now which triggered widespread criticism.
Subsequently Sarma tweeted, "those who are making fun of my statement on mask, must come to Assam and see how we have contained COVID-19 in comparison to states like Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra along with an impressive recovery of our economy".
"We will celebrate Bihu also with the same enthusiasm this year", he added.
Bihu, the Assamese new year is falling on April 14.
According to the order issued, all air passengers from Mumbai and Bengaluru disembarking in any airport of Assam will mandatorily need to carry a negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey and the test report should be verifiable using QR code or otherwise.
Airlines would allow boarding to only those passengers at Mumbai and Bengaluru who are carrying the negative RT-PCR test report.
Any passenger from these two cities who arrive without satisfactory RT-PCR test report will have to undergo paid COVID-19 testing at the airport and will wait in designated location inside airport premises at his own expense till the test result is available.
If the test is positive, the passenger will have to shift to home isolation or hospital, according to the treatment protocol and this order comes into force from April nine.
All passengers, arriving in trains originating from or transiting through Maharashtra and/or Karnataka will undergo screening for symptoms on arrival in railway stations in Assam.
All symptomatic passengers will undergo COVID-19 test and there will also be random Rapid Antigen Test of passengers from among those found to be asymptomatic.
If the test is positive, the passenger will be shifted to home isolation or hospital, as per treatment protocol and this order comes into force with immediate effect.
Regarding contact tracing of COVID-19 positive patients, an order passed to ensure that at least 20 to 25 contacts should be identified who have been exposed to the infected individual.
Apart from rapid antigen test, RT-PCR test should also be carried out for the identified contact in case the rapid test is negative, the order stated.
The health departmen thas also fixed the maximum rates chargeable by NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories ) and ICMR approved private sector laboratories in the state and this ranges from Rs 500/- for RT-PCR samples collected at the labs, Rs 750 for samples collected from home and Rs 250 for rapid antigen test.
The maximum rate chargeable for RT-PCR test at the airports in the state has been fixed at Rs 500 for all approved laboratories.
Assam reported 68 new cases during the last 24 hours with no deaths, taking the total COVID positive cases to 2,18,601 and the death toll to 1107.
There are currently 598 COVID cases in the state with 2,15,549 recovered patients discharged so far.
The state has so far conducted 72,71,998 cumulative tests.
Those who are making fun on my statement on mask, must come to Assam and see how we have contained COVID-19 in compare to the states like Delhi, Kerala, and Maharashtra along with impressive recovery of our economy.We will celebrate Bihu also with the same enthusiasm this year
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 4, 2021
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Police arrested Kejriwal's aide at same time his anticipatory bail plea was being heard: Atishi
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Minister Atishi alleged on Saturday that the city police arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar at the same time his anticipatory bail plea was being heard in court.
Kumar was arrested on Saturday in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, officials said.
He was picked up from the chief minister's residence by a Delhi Police team around noon, a senior officer said.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said Kumar had filed a plea for anticipatory bail before the Tis Hazari court.
Kumar was picked up for questioning by the Delhi Police around 11 am. As soon as he was taken for questioning, news channels started saying he had been arrested, she claimed.
"This shows the BJP's conspiracy. Their intention is to disturb our election campaign and Arvind Kejriwal," she said.
Atishi said the Tis Hazari court considered Kumar's matter urgent and agreed to hear his plea on Saturday itself.
"The court commenced hearing on his plea at 3:55 pm and within 20 minutes, the Delhi Police arrested him at the Civil Lines police station. As soon as his lawyers began arguments, the police learnt that their case is weak and Kumar would get relief. So they arrested Kumar," she claimed.
Atishi alleged that when the court was dictating its order on the matter at 4:55 pm, the Delhi Police lawyer appeared through videoconferencing and said Kumar had already been arrested.
Kumar's anticipatory bail plea has become "infructuous" as he has been arrested, the court observed.
The chief minister's aide, accused of assaulting Maliwal on May 13 at Kejriwal's residence, was arrested two days after an FIR was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station.
Additional Sessions Judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi, while dictating the order to the court staff on the anticipatory bail plea, noted that Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava appeared through videoconferencing around 4:45 pm and informed the court that Kumar had already been arrested.
Atishi said, "Even they knew that their case was weak and if the case was heard, Bibhav Kumar would get bail. That is why tomorrow (Sunday) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will lead all AAP leaders and to the BJP headquarters and court arrest."
Kejriwal said he and other AAP leaders would go to the BJP headquarters on Sunday "so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail".
The BJP is saying they would send AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail, he claimed at a press briefing, hours after Kumar was arrested.
