With the Covid-19 third wave proving to be less serious than initially feared and with infections rapidly coming down, the state cabinet today decided to dispense with many of the restrictions that Meghalayans have been living with for the past two years.
After a review meeting, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma informed that almost all schools will reopen for in-person classes from Monday onwards. This largely applies to Shillong where Classes 1-5 have been online until now.
Furthermore, from Friday, people entering the state will not require an RT-PCR test if they are double vaccinated against the disease. The night-time curfew will also be scrapped.
Permission to hold funeral services had been earlier dispensed with and the cabinet reiterated this move. Large gatherings, public meetings, weddings and processions will still require prior permission from the respective Deputy Commissioner or Sub-Divisional Officer.
Only double vaccinated people will be allowed into bars, restaurants and cinemas and the odd-even rule for private vehicles will remain in place.
Although there have been 7,819 new Covid-19 cases in the state since the start of the year and 70 fatalities, Sangma said that the trend is declining.
“We have also considered the number of people affected by Covid and the number of deaths taking place. The impact of this wave has not been as much in number of lives lost,” the CM said, adding that many of the deaths are not directly related to the coronavirus, even if the deceased test positive, but due to underlying health conditions.
“Keeping all of these factors in mind, we are seeing a trend based on facts and figures and the numbers are reducing. The positivity rate is going down and the number of deaths is far lower than earlier (during the second wave),” he said, adding that the cabinet has made these decisions today to balance the safety of the public with the need for economic growth through normalising the situation.
