In view of the declining cases of COVID-19 in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the schools will reopen in the State for all classes from February 15, said reports.

While addressing the media, CM Sarma stated that the situation is being monitored closely and the decision was taken after a significant drop has been witnessed in Covid-19 cases.

Assam reported 910 new COVID-19 positive cases on Sunday, a decline by over 1,300 compared to the previous day, as the overall tally rose to 7,14,595, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said.

The day also saw 20 more COVID-19 fatalities taking the death toll to 6,442.

Assam State Level Police Recruitment Board (SLPRB) has postponed the online application deadline for the Common Written Test for recruitment of Constables in Assam Police. Candidates who have qualified the Physical Standard Test and Physical Efficiency Test (PST and PET) can now register on the official website slprbassam.in till February 3 up to 5.00 PM.

Earlier, the application deadline was January 30. The Board had released the PST/PET result earlier this month. The Assam Police Constable physical tests were held last year in various districts of Assam.

The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 2,391 posts of Constable in the unarmed branch (UB) and 4,271 posts of Constables in the armed branch (AB) in Assam Police, 813 posts of Constable in APRO and 788 posts of Constable, 754 posts of Constable / Guardsman under DGCD & CGHG, Assam and 154 posts Constable from SPOs against sanctioned posts of AISF Battalion under DGCD & CGHG, Assam.

Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that the night curfew in the state will start from 11 PM once the COVID-19 cases drop below the 1000 mark.

He apprised the same while announcing that classes in schools will reopen from February 15. The timings of the night curfew were changed to 10 PM from 11 PM when COVID cases started increasing at the beginning of January 2022.

Notably, on January 24, Sarma had stated the same, citing that there are almost no deaths reported due to the omicron in the state.

He had further informed that the rate of hospitalization was also lower than 12 percent which is very satisfactory in terms of the status of the COVID-19 in the state.

Sarma had also asserted that the government may introduce new restrictions if the state witnesses a severe variant of the virus.

The Assam Higher Secondary Exam will be conducted from March 15. The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has released the date sheet for the higher Secondary (HS) or Class 12 final year exams. The exams will begin on March 15 and end on April 12.

The exams will begin with the English paper and will end with the paper of Biotechnology. Practical examinations will be held from February 21 to March 10.

Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta on Wednesday categorically ruled out of the imposition of lockdown in the state to contain the spread of COVID-19.

On the eve of the state government’s announcement of the new COVID Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) today, the Minister spoke to the media and said the government has not mulled to take such steps.

While admitting that the pandemic situation has deteriorated alarmingly, Mahanta added that the government would not choose lockdown as a COVID-19 preventive measure.

The Health Minister further said that the majority of those who died in the pandemic had been suffering from some other diseases. “As far as our information, some nursing homes referred some COVID-19 patients who were undergoing treatment there for other diseases to the government hospitals after their detection of the infections. Most of the COVID-19 patients are staying at home isolation”, he added.

After Manipur and Meghalaya, Assam on Wednesday became the third state in the northeastern region to report an omicron case.

The first case was reported in the state’s Sonapur, while the second case was reported in Hojai. Reportedly, a 13-year-old boy, who lives in Sonapur, was found infected with the new COVID variant omicron.

As per the reports, the family is said to be living in Mumbai for a long time and had recently shifted to the city.

After the boy was found positive, the health department along with police officials rushed to his house in Sonapur’s Moirakusi to take him to the medical facility.

After reaching there, the officials concerned found the house to be empty following which police are on the lookout for the boy and his parents.

Meanwhile, the second case was detected in Hojai and the infected person has been identified as Ahmed Hussain, who recently had come back from Saudi Arabia.

He is currently under the monitoring of the health department.

Three African students of Assam’s Dibrugarh University have tested positive for COVID-19, and their samples have been sent for whole genome sequencing, officials said on Wednesday.

Two samples tested positive for the Omicron strain in a kit developed by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), NE of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Dibrugarh, while the third result is awaited.

“After the samples tested Omicron positive in our kit on Tuesday, we then carried out ‘targeted sequencing’, which confirmed the test results,” an ICMR source told a news agency.