Meghalaya: Ramp up existing resources to address COVID challenges, Cong tells govt
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Dr Mukul Sangma, on Saturday, said there is a need for the Meghalaya government to ramp up all the existing resources to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to media persons after a CLP meeting in Shillong on June 19, the former chief minister stated that the current measures to deal with the situation are not adequate.
"Corrective ramping up, where ever necessary and optimally utilising the resources of the government, is very crucial ... Therefore, continuous review and auditing is a must," he observed.
Quantum of Testing
Expressing concerns over the reported rise in COVID cases in the rural areas, Sangma said the "inadequate" quantum of tests against the reported/suspected cases is worrisome.
“In the absence of adequate testing, we will land up not being able to identify as to where the virus is hiding and, therefore, testing becomes crucial,” he said.
"The government has to come up with measures to contain this spread so that we don’t land up seeing the mutant variant emerging from our own backyard.”
Sufferings caused due to lockdown and restriction
The former chief minister also raised the issue concerning the sufferings caused by COVID-induced lockdown and containment measures.
“We are receiving complaints from people across the state with regards to non-availability of support for households who are affected whenever areas are declared as containment zones, restricting the movement of the people,” he said.
He said that whenever a locality or village is declared a containment zone, there is a sudden dislocation of economic activities and sudden disruption to access to commodities, particularly in rural areas where there are no grocery shops in the vicinity.
COVID patients and families, who are affected whenever a locality or village is notified as a containment zone, must be provided relief as they are victims of a disaster, given the fact that COVID-19 has been notified as a disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, he said.
Revised vaccine policy
The CLP leader further observed that the Centre’s revised vaccine policy of increasing the gap/interval between the first and second dose, from the previous 6-7 weeks to 12-16 weeks, is unsatisfactory and lacks scientific reasons.
“We must be realistic and scientific. The state government must prevail upon the government of India to take a call which should be guided by complete scientific interpretation and not any individual’s opinion or strategy,” Sangma said.
He observed that the nation as a whole would likely be found unprepared to face the onslaught of the inevitable third wave because of this revised vaccine policy.
"The population needs to be fully equipped with the right kind of arsenal, through vaccination - to minimise the burden on the public health system, to reduce the sufferings and loss of lives," he added.
(Edited by Ibankyntiew Mawrie)
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