Meghalaya government has decided to further ease Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, allowing sports activities, cinema halls, jack pot parlours, public parks to reopen from August 23.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong announcing the new guidelines on Thursday said Lady Hydari Park, Wards’ Lake and Elephants Falls are allowed to reopen.
Cinema halls will be allowed to reopen with only one-third of their capacity which also applies to private vehicles, Tynsong said.
He said that all the above will be allowed only for those who are above 18 years of age and vaccinated.
The Deputy Chief Minister also informed that the government is partnering with the traditional institutions to ensure the safety of the citizens.
With 49 per cent of the eligible population of the State vaccinated, he said the percentage is encouraging and vaccine hesitancy will soon subside. He reiterated that the State was targeting to vaccinate 70 per cent by the end of September.
“People are now willingly coming for vaccination and it is a good sign. Once the State achieves 85-90 per cent vaccination, all the restrictions can be lifted,” he said.
When asked about the difficulty to control the crowd in markets like Khyndailad and Ïewduh, after their reopening, Tynsong said that it was not easy for the government to take action.
“We can’t stop the crowd from coming onto the road,” Tynsong said even as he asked the citizens to be cautious while coming out of their houses.
Meanwhile, there were 329 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in Meghalaya today. There were also 308 new recoveries and five fatalities.
Four deaths were in East Khasi Hills, one in East Jaiñtia Hills, the Health Department informed.
