GUWAHATI, June 8 - As many as 154 new coronavirus cases were reported in Assam even as the State recorded its fifth COVID-19 death on Monday. The State�s COVID-19 tally touched 2,835 today. The fifth death was reported in Karbi Anglong and the person, identified as Arun Kakoti (55), was in home quarantine.
Kakoti is a resident of Sunpura village of Bakaliaghat, around 65 km from Diphu. He had returned from Chennai on May 27 and after a few days of institutional quarantine he was sent for home quarantine on June 3 after his first test was negative.
His condition deteriorated later and was brought dead to a hospital at Diphu yesterday. His samples, collected after death, tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, after detection of positive patients in the areas, four new places in Guwahati � a locality in Aathgaon, Sarabbhatti, Bhaskar Block B (Fatasil), Hajongbori (Chandrapur) � have been declared as containment zones. One new patient is a staff of the transport department, but he was not on duty for some time.
During the day, 148 cured patients were also discharged. One of them is a one-year-old child who was under treatment at the MMCH.
On the other hand, places of worship, restaurants and malls opened today following easing of the lockdown restrictions.
Authorities at temples, churches, mosques, etc., issued guidelines for the visitors to ensure hygiene and social distancing. Thermal screening of devotees was also done at some places. Devotees queued up at the gates and were allowed to enter in small numbers. At smaller places of worships, the authorities allowed just one person inside the main shrine at a time.
Many of the restaurants and hotels, however, continued to remain closed, while some opened takeaway counters outside their premises. The dining restaurants witnessed negligible footfall.
�Some were closed because they carried out cleaning of the premises. Some have not opened as they wanted to see the situation for a few more days,� a functionary of the restaurant owners association said.
He informed that many restaurants were on the verge of closure due to the impact of the lockdown. �Social distancing will be a norm till the time there is a vaccine. The fine dine restaurants will not be able to survive in such a scenario. The takeaway joints will not be hit much,� he added.
(With inputs from Diphu Correspondent)
