The increasing number of cases of Covid-19 in the state capital means that Shillong is a red zone in all but name, Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh said.
“There is a continuous rise of Covid-19 cases everyday and Shillong is a red zone whether the government of Meghalaya admits it or not,” Lyngdoh told Highland Post.
Numerous pockets within the city are under some form of lockdown or the other, she added, referring to the micro-containment zones that have been declared by the East Khasi Hills district administration to halt the spread of the virus.
“You may not have an official lockdown but the areas where there is micro-containment have extended so much that it accounts for, more or less, a partial lockdown,” she said.
According to the MLA, the rise in cases of Covid-19 in Meghalaya is alarming, with testing, contact tracing and the declaration of test results taking too long. The public is also facing confusion with the misspelling of names and incorrect addresses published by the administration when making announcements of containment zones, she claimed.
She also worried that students will be treated differently because those in containment zones will not be able to meet with their teachers under the partial reopening of schools that began yesterday.
“What will students who live in areas like Laitumkhrah and Keating Road do? Will they not be given this opportunity to meet their teachers and interact with them?” Lyngdoh asked.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh demanded that the state government make plain how much funding it has received from the Centre in the fight against Covid-19.
Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek on Monday had said that the pandemic has taken a toll on the state exchequer, with the inflow of central funds to the state inadequate.
“From March to date we don’t know how much the quantum of fund allocation from the central government is,” Lyngdoh said. “We don’t know the deficit and are not privy to this information. We need the government to share this information with members of the opposition given the situation where we are not able to meet in the Assembly.”
The opposition does not know how much money has been sent from New Delhi, how much of it has been used and where and how it is being used, the MLA said, adding a request for the Speaker to call a meeting to understand the statement made by Hek yesterday.
