SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma doesn’t think that there was any need for activating the entry and exit points at this stage, since technically and effectively the state has such points as everyone who enters the state now has to obtain official clearance from the government.
Admitting that the government has to setup infrastructure which will take time due to the complexity in location, the chief minister earlier said that all the movement and checking of people is taking place in Byrnihat which is around 10-15 kilometers from Umling.
Making it clear that the state would eventually have its entry point at Umling, the chief minister added that the land improvement at Umling had already started and even the administrative approval for the project has been granted.
Earlier, a conglomeration of pressure groups had urged the government to conduct an urgent dry run of the entry and exit points for regulating entry of outsiders into the state prior to import of “highly skilled workers” into the state amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compulsory quarantine
In a related development, the chief minister has disclosed that “We are not only registering new entrants from outside the state but also keeping them in institutional quarantine for three days.”
However, a top official of the Health department while clarifying on the matter said that all people who enter the state are kept in institutional quarantine until their reports are tested negative.
“It depends on a case-to-case basis and sometimes their reports come in a day or else in a maximum time of three days and for that period they stay in institutional quarantine centres,” the official added.
