Cases of Covid-19 in the state could be five times higher than the official figures make out, leader of the opposition, Dr Mukul Sangma, said today.
“It is because they (the government) are not conducting contact tracing anymore. How are they going to find where the virus is hiding? So, the virus is striking back at will,” Dr Sangma said. “The virus has spread to the interiors…the rural areas. There is complete abandonment of the protocols required to be followed by the government.”
Meghalaya has recorded 66,495 official cases of Covid-19, 52,430 of which have been reported since April 1 this year.
According to the ex-Chief Minister and physician, there are certain measures that should have been put in place in rural areas in order to contain the pandemic, break the chain of transmission, prevent the possibility of a new variant emerging and save lives.
“The lack of focus and priority of this government has left the pandemic to shape its own way or given the virus free right of way. It is going everywhere; we don’t know where the virus is now. The virus is striking at will,” Dr Sangma added.
The vaccination programme could have also been handled better, he said, as insufficient advice is being given to the public who get the jab and this is creating a “negative narrative” and vaccine hesitancy.
