Children below the age of 10 who enter Assam will no longer be required to undergo the mandatory testing for coronavirus disease (Covid-19), according to a state government notification issued on Monday.
“Children below 10 years of age along with double vaccinated parent(s)/ guardian(s) coming to Assam are hereby exempted from the mandatory Covid-9 testing,” the notification issued by the principal secretary, health and family welfare department read.
The notification also said that such children can undergo voluntary testing RT-PCR for Covid-19 if their parents or guardians are willing.
Previously, the Assam government had exempted fully vaccinated adults from mandatory testing upon entering the state.
However, people who have only been vaccinated with a single dose, or have not received the jab at all or are symptomatic even after being fully vaccinated have to get themselves tested for the viral disease, Monday's notification said.
{{/usCountry}}However, people who have only been vaccinated with a single dose, or have not received the jab at all or are symptomatic even after being fully vaccinated have to get themselves tested for the viral disease, Monday's notification said.
{{/usCountry}}The above orders are for people entering Assam through border points, airports and railway stations. The exemptions have been provided amid an improvement in the overall pandemic situation and the surge in the number of people getting vaccinated.
Till now, authorities in Assam have administered 28,934,877 vaccine doses. Of these, 20,291,421 people have received the first dose and the remaining 8,643,456 are fully vaccinated.
The state on Sunday saw a fall in its Covid tally with 137 new cases, taking the caseload to 612,271. Two more patients died and 265 recovered from the viral disease on Sunday. With this, the cumulative count of deaths and recoveries has climbed to 6,028 and 602,994 respectively. The active cases in Assam stand at 1,902.