Guwahati has not been declared ‘red zone’ in view of COVID19 pandemic as reported by a section of media.
This was confirmed by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) in Assam on its official Twitter handle.
The report has been declared as ‘fake news’ by the PIB.
A digital media house on Monday published a news report saying that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared Guwahati as ‘red zone’ due to the rise in COVID19 positive cases in the city.
The news report also claimed the media house reached to the chief secretary of Assam who “confirmed” them about the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
However, it said the state government has not issued an official statement in this regard yet.
A popular news channel of Assam also aired a piece of news stating that 7 districts of Assam including Guwahati, Cachar and Bongaigaon have been placed under ‘red zone’.
Sharing screenshots of the news published by the city-based digital media house and news channel, the PIB denied any such decision taken by the Centre.
Claim: MHA has declared Guwahati (& 6 other districts) as Red Zone.#FactCheck: #FakeNews@MoHFW_INDIA and not @HMOIndia, categorises districts under zones in relation to #Covid-19. Assam has no Red Zone District as of now. @guwahatiplus @NewsLiveGhy @PIBFactCheck @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/4OK7ZSnMcU
— PIB in Assam (@PIB_Guwahati) May 11, 2020
The PIB based in Guwahati said it is the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (HoHFW) which catagorises various districts under zones in relation to COVID19 and not the Home Ministry as reported.
“Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decides the list of Red Zone, Orange Zone and Green Zone districts and share the information with State/UTs on a weekly basis or earlier as required,” the PIB said in a statement.
“State/UTs on review may consider inclusion of additional districts as Red Zone and Orange Zone districts depending on the extent of spread of COVID-19 infection.”
As per the list issued on April 30, 2020 by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are only 3 districts namely Dhubri, Morigaon and Goalpara under Orange Zone and none under Red Zone, the PIB stated.
“All concerned are requested to refrain from spreading such false information,” it further stated.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Assam, also declared the news as a ‘fake news’.
Sharing a screenshot of the news published by the digital media house, the DIPR of Assam on its official Twitter handle said the state chief secretary has clarified that the statement ascribed to him by the news portal has not been made by him.
“No statement regarding ‘red Zone’ has been made by the Chief Secretary, Assam,” the DIPR, Assam said.
#diprFakeNewsAlert #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Si6IIcIttA
— DIPR Assam (@diprassam) May 11, 2020
With two more persons testing positive for COVID19 in Guwahati on Monday, the city currently has 7 active cases.