An all-party meeting was convened by Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh today to discuss the way forward in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in the wake of surges in infections and fatalities.
The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, his cabinet colleagues, leader of the opposition Dr Mukul Sangma and others.
Speaking on the sidelines, Dr Sangma said that too much time had been wasted before the authorities really swung into action against the virus.
“We will have to ensure that we are not wasting precious time. Today, what we see is that we had wasted time and we should learn from the past,” Dr Sangma said. “We must be able to save every single life. If we are not able to do so, then we need to understand the pain associated with it.”
On the surge in cases, the Congress leader said that there was a presumption among the public that the pandemic was over when the war was still far from won.
“We had already declared that we have emerged victorious against the virus,” Dr Sangma said.
He also expressed his hope that the government takes on board the concerns and suggestions of the legislators and not think that those “deficiencies” pointed out by the opposition are part of a blame game.
“We need to minimise the number of cases. We have already lost a substantial number of lives,” he said, adding that while there have been pandemics in the past, this one is all the more challenging because of greater population, population density and altered lifestyles.
Expanding on the latter point, Dr Sangma said that the immunity of “millennial children” is poorer because they experience less physical activity and have less healthy eating habits.
If the state was caught off guard with regards to the second wave of the pandemic, he said that there must be total preparation for third or subsequent waves.
After the meeting, Lyngdoh appealed to Meghalayans to remain calm, have confidence in the government machinery and get vaccinated. He also appealed to traditional leaders, religious groups and NGOs to work with the government against the virus.
The Chief Minister said that the second wave caught everyone by surprise when it hit Meghalaya. “Now the worst thing we can do is to let our guard down,” he said.
