SHILLONG, Jan 4: Meghalaya Government has defended its decision of making it mandatory for anybody entering the state to either go for RT-PCR test or produce a negative RT-PCR report even if they are fully vaccinated.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the government came out with the new rule for the safety of the people of the state by ensuring minimum or no transmission of the Omicron the COVID-19 variant through restrictions at the entry point.
Defending the government’s decision, he said the RT-PCR test has been made mandatory since people are coming to the state from red zones like New Delhi and Mumbai where the infection rate is high.
“This is being done to make sure that people are fully safe as it is not necessary that the vaccinated will not get infected. The case may be mild for them but there may be transmission to family members and others,” he said.
“This is why the government decided on restrictions and mandatory RT-PCR test for everyone – tourists, residents of the state or central government employees working in Meghalaya,” he added.
In view of the Omicron surge across the country, the Meghalaya government had on Monday decided to re-impose the restrictions on public gatherings, re-enforce night curfew and regulate the movement of private vehicles from January 5.
The government also said everyone including the double vaccinated entering the state would require to produce an RT-PCR negative test report conducted within 72 hours or get tested at the entry point.
The Chairman of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation, Saleng Sangma had earlier asked the state government to stop the entry of tourists in view of the rising cases of Omicron across the globe.