The Assam government on Wednesday ordered to shut all offices, religious places and weekly markets for 15 days in urban and semi-urban areas of the state, besides banning the movement of people from 2 pm to 5 am in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases.Issuing a new set of guidelines for the urban and semi-urban places in the periphery of 5 km of municipal areas, Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua said all standalone shops and commercial establishments shall shut down at 1 pm on all days."Complete lockdown is an option, but we are going gradually in a phased manner. We hope these measures will work in the next two-three days," he said at a press conference in Guwahati.The new restrictions will come into effect from Thursday.

The Assam government on Wednesday ordered to shut all offices, religious places and weekly markets for 15 days in urban and semi-urban areas of the state, besides banning the movement of people from 2 pm to 5 am in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases.Issuing a new set of guidelines for the urban and semi-urban places in the periphery of 5 km of municipal areas, Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua said all standalone shops and commercial establishments shall shut down at 1 pm on all days."Complete lockdown is an option, but we are going gradually in a phased manner. We hope these measures will work in the next two-three days," he said at a press conference in Guwahati.The new restrictions will come into effect from Thursday.