Meghalaya Govt imposes total lockdown in East Khasi Hills district till May 31

SHILLONG:

The Govt of Meghalaya on Tuesday imposed a total lockdown in East Khasi Khasi Hills (EKH) district starting from 8 PM of May 19 to May 31.

Speaking to reporters after the review meeting on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the decision to extend the lockdown by 10 days was taken given the COVID surge in the district.

“We are compelled to take the 10 days lockdown after the consulting experts and the Health Department,” he said.

As for other districts in the state, Tynsong informed that the government has authorised respective Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to take appropriate decision based on the cases being reported and the situation.

He added that during the lockdown period, the DC will work in coordination with the Superintendent of Police (SP) and SP (City) to ensure the imposition of total lockdown is followed by everyone.

He added that emergency and essential services for the people of East Khasi Hills will be worked out by DC to make sure that the essential commodities reach the respective households in the district.

The Health Department will continue with the vaccination drive as it has been going on, and the lockdown will not have any impact on the vaccination process.

“The government would request citizens of EKH as well as residents of Meghalaya to kindly adhere, respect and strictly follow regulations issued by the government,” he said.

He reiterated that the public must not ignore the protocols and regulations issued by the government as the situation is grim.

“During the total lockdown in East Khasi Hills, we will not allow movement outside or inside the EKH district except for unavoidable and emergency services. Stay wherever you are and please don't come to EKH especially Shillong city," he maintained.

Speaking about the common people who will face the brunt of the lockdown, he said, “We feel for those who live from hand to mouth but we are compelled to take the step as it is a matter of survival. We expect that the lockdown we will see a decrease in the cases.”

As for misconception and miscommunication surrounding funeral services, Tynsong said that people must only isolate themselves if there is a positive case among those who attended the funeral. Further, the funeral services are restricted to only 15 people.

As for the establishment of isolation care centres, Tynsong said that they have asked the Health Department to issue a detailed plan on how to set up the centres at the community level, and has requested the traditional heads and civil organizations to coordinate with the government in this regard.

He assured the people that there is no shortage of essential commodities in the state, the government has entrusted the District administration and local heads to look into the supply of the commodities. During the total lockdown period, no shops will be opened. 

Why the surge?

DHS (MI) Director Aman Warr attributed the surge to the nature of the virus adding that people have been moving out despite the restrictions. The protocols laid by the government are not being followed properly in the district. 

Secondly, there has been a lot of testing recently, therefore, with more tests, more cases are being reported, he said.

Asked as to why the total lockdown was not imposed in the state, Tynsong maintained that EKH is the epicentre of the disease, and therefore it became necessary to put the district under lockdown.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)

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