SHILLONG, Jan 4: State All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) president, Charles Pyngrope has urged the state government to take steps to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of
COVID-19 while ensuring the livelihood activities of the people are not affected.
“We know the government will need to take measures by imposing some restrictions, especially after the detection of five cases of Omicron in the state. But I would appeal to the state government to strike a balance by containing the spread of the virus and allowing economic activities to continue,” he told The Shillong Times on Tuesday.
Pyngrope advocated the odd-even system for private vehicles and not for public vehicles whose operators have suffered in the past two years.
“The odd-even system should have been imposed from 2020. The private vehicles should not have been allowed so freely,” he said, adding the private vehicle owners can always use public transport to commute.
Pyngrope supported the decision of the state government to make it mandatory for everyone entering Meghalaya to produce a negative RT-PCR report or get tested at the entry gate.
“I understand that some kind of inconvenience has been created in view of this decision. But under the circumstances, the people should understand that such containment measures are needed for their own safety,” he said.
Pyngrope hoped the state would be sincere in its effort to contain the spread of the new variant to remove any doubt in the minds of the people.
Urging the people not to be swayed by the negative campaign on social media, he said the citizens should try to strictly adhere to the laid-down regulations.
“We cannot put our guards down since the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is still on,” Pyngrope said.