Assam CM Debunks Fake Tweet, Alarms Tweeple To “Stay Off Misinformation”

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday informed Tweeple that a fake tweet is in wide circulation stating the cases of Covid-19 have surged and hence all schools and colleges would be shut down from November 20.

Debunking the disinformation, Dr. Sarma tweeted that tweet is "wrong" and "should not be heeded to". He also urged the people to not fall prey to "misinformation and fake news". The fake tweet was published on November 1 at 7.14 p.m.

Further, he added that Assam Police should "take note and act" accordingly.

A FAKE tweet bearing my name is circulating saying that since cases of #COVID19 have gone up schools & colleges are being closed down from Nov 20. This is WRONG & should not be heeded to. Stay off misinformation and fake news! I am advising @assampolice to take note and act.

The Chief Minister shared a screenshot of the fake tweet whose content read: "As per Covid-19 cases are increasing in Assam very fast. On 31st October it cross 300+ possitive cases. So the Education department and the government decided to closed school's and collage's from 20th November #staysafe"

Notably, Assam reopened its schools and colleges in a phased manner from September 6 beginning with the final year students of higher secondary, graduation, and post-graduation, while the primary section from Class 1 onwards attended school in the state for the first time on October 19 since the COVID-19 pandemic struck nearly two years ago.

According to the new SOPs, physical classes for standards 1-8 will be held on alternate days of the week, while from standard 9 onwards, classes will be on a daily basis. A maximum number of 30 students are allowed per section of a class. Class 10 restarted on September 20.

The decision to reopen the educational institutions was taken in view of the improving COVID-19 situation in Assam, with the deputy commissioner of a district reserving the right to declare these closed if the positivity rate breaches the 2-per cent mark on a particular day.