The Dhemaji district has lost the green zone status after detection of 4 COVID19 positive cases on Monday.
All of the infected persons returned home from Chennai by a special train via Dibrugarh on May 19.
As per a district administration report, the four persons were put in a facility quarantine centre’ at Dhemaji ISBT.
The medical team during collection of swab samples observed COVID19 symptoms in the 4 cases and immediately shifted the patients to the Dhemaji civil hospital isolation wards.
Later, ICMR laboratory at Lahowal in Dibrugarh reported that the samples tested positive for COVID19 on Monday.
Five other persons, who were accompanied by the four, are currently in Jonai MS College quarantine centre, however, they tested negative in their first swab tests, said Dr Kishore Kr Kaman, the sub-divisional medical & health officer of Jonai.
The COVID19 positive cases have been reported in the district for the first time after a day of Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal visiting Dhemaji where he reviewed the anti-COVID19 measures on Saturday.
The Dhemaji district, bordering Siang region of Arunachal Pradesh, was declared as ‘green zone’ as there was no COVID19 case till May 24.
But, after detection of 4 COVID19 positive cases, the district has lost its green zone status.
About 785 people have returned to Dhemaji after the authority allowed homecoming of the stranded people last week and the returnees have been kept under facility quarantine in five centres in the district.
Out of them, 130 persons, who have completed 7-day quarantine period (as per new guidelines), were released from the centres on Saturday.
However, they will have to remain in home quarantine.
Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently announced that all the returnees will have to follow rigorous quarantine for 14 days.
The district medical surveillance teams, comprising doctors and medical staff, have been conducting ‘fever surveillance’ in the rural areas covering five block PHCs areas in the district.
The teams so far have collected 12,500 swab samples which have been sent to the ICMR laboratory in Dibraugarh for COVID19 tests.