Over 358 micro-containment zones, identified as ‘high case areas’, are contributing to over 90% of the daily cases in Assam, senior health department officials said on Wednesday.Though Assam has a low positivity rate when compared to other states in the region, around 1,700 cases are being reported daily, which is the highest in the northeast. Five districts in the state are currently under round-the-clock curfew.

The areas where the cases are being reported from have been earmarked, he said, except in Guwahati. In Guwahati there is a constant movement of people at airport and RAILWAY stations where people have been testing positive. But in rural districts, the focused areas are well marked and put under containment. Infections are being tested mostly in the containment zones, Choudhury added.

During the second wave, 7,900 locations were turned into micro-containment zones in the state, but the number of active micro-containment zones has drastically reduced. At least 50% of these micro-containment zones are in the five districts which are under curfew, he said.