SHILLONG, July 13: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday flagged the low COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the state and said the high positivity rate in two districts was a cause for worry.
These were the major issues he highlighted during a two-hour virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had expressed concern over the increasing cases of COVID-19 in Meghalaya and the other Northeastern states.
The meeting was held with all the chief ministers of the Northeast. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Meghalaya Health Minister Alexander L. Hek attended the meeting among others.
Sangma said the COVID wave hitting the Northeast after the rest of the country was on expected lines.
“It gave us the time to prepare in terms of our infrastructure and oxygen supply and other factors,” he said.
He said the COVID cases in the state have been showing a declining trend but the rate has not been as anticipated because of the scattered population.
“In the dense areas, we have seen the numbers come up immediately and then it went down. But in the rural areas, the spread has been more and is taking time to come down. But we are expecting that in the next few weeks, things should look much better than what they are today,” Sangma said.
The positivity rate has come down below 10% for Meghalaya, but two districts have been recording a positivity rate of more than 10%. “This is a major worry,” he said at the meeting.
The Chief Minister expressed concern over the low vaccination coverage, which is “still below the national average”. The state government has thus taken up the vaccination drive on a mission mode, he said.
“We have asked the MLAs, MDCs, civil society and religious leaders to help and contribute towards enhancing the vaccination drive and there have been positive results in the last few days,” Sangma pointed out.
“We are hopeful that if the state is able to increase the vaccination to 20,000-25,000 per day, we can expect to complete the vaccination of all the eligible population by the end of September or early October,” he said.
He appreciated the Centre for providing the state with 14 oxygen plants, oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators and various healthcare equipment and infrastructure to combat the novel coronavirus.
During the discussion, Modi urged all the Chief Ministers to focus on the vaccination drive as the jab is the only way to beat COVID-19 in the long run.
