SHILLONG/NONGSTOIN, June 30: The COVID-19 situation in West Jaintia Hills has turned grim, Home Minister Lakhmen Rymbui said. “The situation is very grim in West Jaintia Hills and 60% of the positive cases are in my constituency,” said Rymbui, who represents the United Democratic Party from Amlarem.
He said 11 people have lost their lives so far in his constituency and most of them were not vaccinated.
Expressing concern, he said that the vaccination coverage in his constituency was very low at around 22%.
Stating that vaccine hesitancy was posing a challenge, Rymbui said: “I hope the people of my constituency as well as the entire state realise that vaccination is needed to return to some semblance of normalcy.”
He said more than 100 cases had been detected in his village Nongtalang but there was a silver lining as people willingly came forward to get themselves tested.
He said the vaccination coverage has been more than 50% from areas between Amlarem and the border, but it is very low in Jarain and villages under Khlieh Tyrshi. Stating that it is a big challenge for the health workers and government to make the people understand, he said, “Forget about people spreading negative rumours about vaccination. As of today, vaccination is the only weapon with which we can fight besides following the SOPs.”
Rymbui reminding that that the expected third wave of the pandemic could be affecting children mostly. “Only the 18-plus are able to take the vaccine now, which means all of us who are over 18 years we will put our own children at risk if we do not take the vaccine,” he said.
He pointed out that people in western countries have started living their normal life because more than 60% of their population have been vaccinated. The vaccination has also been 60% in Shillong where a few restrictions have been lifted because the cases have come down, he said.
“The hesitancy is still there in the rural areas, but I am happy to see many the villages becoming cent per cent vaccinated and this is a positive sign,” he added.
Lukewarm response in WKH
It took a valorous Deputy Commissioner to make vaccination mandatory for commercial establishment operators/owners; others followed in the footstep of this DC and even the Meghalaya High Court stepped in as the concerns were crucial.
Despite these, the response to the directive has been lukewarm in West Khasi Hills as local taxi drivers, shops and other establishments are not cooperating because the district administration has reportedly not conducted inspection or checking to ensure compliance with the directive.
The order mandates these drivers, shopkeepers etc., to display prominently at a conspicuous place the status of their vaccination.
During the inspection made by this correspondent, it was found that a negligible percentage of the total shops and cabbies were complying with the order despite it clearly mentioning that flouting of the directives will lead to such their establishment being barred from carrying out activities.
