SHILLONG: Despite a sharp rise in the COVID-19 cases in Meghalaya, the government has made it clear that it has no plans of imposing another lockdown in the state.
Speaking to media persons after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state on Monday, Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma said it was time everyone realized that a cautious and adaptive approach was the only way forward.
“Lockdown is not a solution but a mechanism to delay the spread of COVID-19,” Sangma told reporters after the meeting.
The statement comes at a time when the state is witnessing a spurt in cases and the state is heading towards a peak in COVID cases in the next two months, as per experts.
“We cannot simply close down the economy and impose lockdown time and again but we need to learn to adapt to things and figure out how to best adjust to the situation since COVID is here to stay,” the chief minister noted.
Earlier, the review meeting focused on various COVID-related scenarios like the recovery and death rates in the state and containment strategies in areas where cases are on the rise.
Meanwhile, the chief minister informed that the 12 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the state would re-open on September 24 for which necessary protocols were being worked out.
73 new cases
Meghalaya on Monday reported 73 new cases taking the number of active cases to 2,169 while three more deaths were reported in the state on the day. However, the death toll was updated to 37 instead of 39 as two of the deceased were not from Meghalaya.
DHS (MI) Dr Aman War informed that 46-year-old Jyotika Ghosh of Jail Road passed away at Nazareth hospital on September 19. She was initially admitted at Woodland Hospital and after testing positive for COVID-19 through rapid antigen on September 18, was referred to Nazareth Hospital where she expired on September 19.
48-year-old Jyotimoi Sharma, from Tripura, died at NEIGRIHMS on the same day. Sharma was brought to NEIGRIHMS on September 8 after complaints of sudden loss of consciousness and difficulty in breathing and had tested positive for COVID-19. He expired at 5 pm on September 19.
75-year-old Ranjit Kumar Das from Karimganj, Assam, who was admitted at NEIGRIHMS on September 20, with multiple disorders and was tested COVID-19 positive, passed away on Monday.
However, since the patient was tested COVID-19 positive in Assam, the death will not be recorded in Meghalaya, the DHS informed.
Among the new cases on Monday, East Khasi Hills reported 59 (Armed Forces/ Paramilitary Forces-6, others-53), West Garo Hills reported 12 cases (Armed Forces/ Paramilitary Forces-4, others-8) while
North Garo Hills and West Jaintia Hills reported one case each.
15 persons also recovered from COVID-19 on Monday including six from West Garo Hills, four from Ri Bhoi, three from South West Garo Hills and two from East Jaintia Hills. The total recoveries stood at 2528.
