Assam eases COVID restrictions as situation improves

Assam eased COVID-related restrictions on Tuesday, limiting the night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am, in view of the improvement of the situation in the state, officials said. Issuing a new set of guidelines, Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua said 31 per cent of the eligible population of the state have been fully vaccinated, while 95 per cent got their first dose.

"The situation of COVID-19 in the state has been reviewed and the overall COVID scenario in the state has further improved," said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) order, which came into effect immediately.

The daily new cases are hovering between 300 and 400, mostly reported from the urban and peri-urban areas, and most of the districts are reporting less than 10 cases per day for the last four-five weeks, it added.


The ASDMA order relaxed the night curfew, which will be from 11 pm to 5 am, instead of starting at 10 pm earlier.

The new guidelines, however, cut the number of people attending weddings to a maximum of 50 single-dose vaccinated persons from 200 fully vaccinated persons, in the earlier order issued on October 1.

On the other side, 50 people have been allowed to attend the last rites of a dead person, the guidelines said.

In "iconic" religious places, 60 fully vaccinated people have been permitted per hour, while 40 fully vaccinated persons will be able to enter other religious centres, the order mentioned.

Cinema halls and auditoriums were allowed to function with 50 per cent capacity, it added.

In the earlier order, all those entering any auditorium or cinema hall were mandated to be fully vaccinated, but this clause was removed from the latest guidelines.