COVID-19 screening & testing to continue in all airports & railway stations of Assam

Feb. 26: In a significant development, COVID-19 screening and testing will continue in all the airports of the State i.e. Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur & Lakhimpur and the railway stations as before, as per extant protocols. This was notified by Samir K. Sinha, Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, Health and Family Welfare Department on 26 February, 2021.

The notification stated that there has been recently a gradual increase in the incidence of COVID-19 cases in few States. Moreover, new strain of COVID-19 has been discovered in some locations in the country. Meanwhile though the COVID-19 vaccination has started but it will take some time for a large segment of the population to be vaccinated.

It is in this backdrop that the Government of Assam stated that “It is now essential that all precautions continue to be taken to contain the spread of COVID-19; Now, therefore, the order No.HLA.310/2020/90 dated 18/02/2021 (Annexure-I) regarding discontinuation of mandatory COVID-19 testing at airport and railway stations in Assam with effect from lst March 2021, is hereby kept in abeyance until further orders. COVID-19 screening and testing will continue in all the airports of the State and the railway stations as before, as per extant protocols.”

Further, the concerned district administration/ Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) officials will ensure that contact tracing protocol is strictly adhered to.