Assam: Many senior bureaucrats test +tive for novel coronavirus

After extending the coronavirus-induced lockdown in Kamrup Metropolitan district till July 19, Assam government officials have reported that several senior bureaucrats have tested positive for COVID-19.

Guwahati: Several senior bureaucrats, including the Commissioner and Secretary to Assam Governor, have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Wednesday.

At least five senior officials have tested positive for novel coronavirus in the last 2-3 days, an official told reporters.

Commissioner and Secretary to the Governor of Assam, S S Meenakshi Sundaram, his wife and mother have tested positive for COVID-19 and they are being treated at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here.

Senior IAS officer Oinam Sarankumar Singh, the Commissioner of Industries Department and also the MD of Assam Industrial Development Corporation, has also tested positive for COVID-19, he said.

Pabitra Ram Khaund, the secretary of the Transport, Industries and Commerce Departments is undergoing treatment at a hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Read:|Pursue economic activities while fighting COVID-19: Sonowal

The PS to the Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister, Rajibuddin Ahmed has tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, the official said.

Additional Secretary of the Industries Department Isaan Bardalai has also tested positive.

Additional Chief Secretary and the Chairman of the Board of Revenue, V S Bhaskar's cook has also tested positive for COVID-19, the source said.

Meanwhile, 608 police personnel have tested COVID-19 positive across the state, of whom one has died and 272 have recovered, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh said on Twitter.

On Monday, the Senior Officers' Colony, commonly known as IAS Colony, was partially sealed after it was declared a 'Containment Zone' for an indefinite period after four cases of COVID-19 were detected there.

The entire Raj Bhavan campus and it's surrounding areas were declared a containment zone and sealed on July 4 after two members of the Governor's Office tested COVID-19 positive.

Guwahati city has reported a total of 8,171 COVID-19 cases so far, of whom 7,728 persons tested positive since June 24.

The 14-day lockdown imposed from June 28 in Kamrup Metropolitan district, under which Guwahati city falls, was extended by a week till July 19.

PTI report

Read:|Lockdown in Guwahati may extend for another week