SHILLONG, June 11: Asserting that the Covid situation in the state, particularly in East Khasi Hills, was yet to come down below the danger level, the Meghalaya government on Friday extended the ongoing lockdown in Shillong Urban Agglomeration till 5am of June 21. The positivity rate in East Khasi Hills on Friday was 13.69%.
Containment measures were implemented on May 1 in Shillong and its adjoining areas, Jowai and Tura but a spike in cases prompted the district administration to announce a five-day total lockdown in East Khasi Hills and weekly lockdowns in other districts from May 5-10. Since then the lockdown has been extended six times, making it one of the longest spells of lockdown anywhere in the country in 2021.
Announcing the one-week extension of the lockdown after a review meeting in Jowai, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the Cabinet has authorised the deputy commissioners of other districts to decide and take a call on the matter according to their needs.
Vouching for extension of the lockdown, Sangma, who reviewed the Covid situation in the two districts of Jaintia Hills, said that though the Covid graph is plateauing in most of the districts, the government cannot lets its guard down.
“We have still not come down below the danger level and hence we decided to extend the lockdown in East Khasi Hills,” the CM argued.
Admitting that people’s livelihood has been affected due to the ongoing lockdown, the chief minister said that the government has permitted 20% of shops dealing in non-essential commodities to open in different areas of the state, details of which would be worked out by the respective DCs.
The Cabinet has also authorised DCs to prevent markets from opening in areas where the situation is not conducive.
The DCs have also been empowered to permit 20% of commercial vehicles to ply in their districts.
Banks and post offices have been permitted to open with limited staff.
Public, social and religious gatherings are not permitted while funeral gatherings have been restricted to 10 persons with prior permission from the DC.
