After addressing free-wheeling election rallies where it appeared that no Covid-19 protocols were followed by members of the public, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will chair a high level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in Meghalaya tomorrow.
Cases of the coronavirus are at record highs for this year, though still down from the peak of 2020, though Garo Hills, which saw elections to the district council yesterday, has only five officially confirmed cases.
Today, Health Minister A L Hek held a review meeting with officers of his department. He then told reporters that the chief minister would chair tomorrow’s meeting because the issues go across different departments.
Although cases are rising sharply, especially in East Khasi Hills, Hek said that his department would not recommend a lockdown of the sort that was seen at the start of the pandemic in March last year.
Despite Covid cases reported from several returnees, the minister said that a ban on entrants into Meghalaya would be excessive, as all entrants have to undergo testing, either beforehand or at the checkpoints.
“Restriction of movement at the moment will not be advisable,” Hek said while adding that the chief minister will take the ultimate call.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya registered 87 new cases of Covid-19 today, the highest single-day figure this year.
78 of the new infections were reported in East Khasi Hills, with 48 returnees, seven armed forces/paramilitaries, seven high-risk contacts, five in Lapalang, three in Mawlai Nongkwar and one health worker among those who tested positive.
There were also four cases in Ri-Bhoi (two in the armed forces, one returnee), three in West Jaintia Hills (two returnees) and one each in East Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills (both returnees).
There were also ten recoveries – seven in East Khasi Hills and one each in East Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi and West Garo Hills.
There are now 270 active Covid-19 cases in the State, an increase of 40 per cent on the previous day. East Khasi Hills alone accounts for 215 active cases.
In all, Meghalaya has had 14,387 Covid-19 cases, of which 270 are active, 13,966 have recovered and 151 have died from the virus. The recovery rate has fallen to 97.07 per cent. The fatality rate is 1.05 per cent.
Over 1.56 lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the State as of today.
