Meghalaya to restrict movement of people to prevent spread of Covid: CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday said his government will take a slew of measures including night curfew, odd-even rule for vehicles and restrictions on public gatherings from January 5 to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Sangma said details of the measures will be announced by officials later.

We as a government feel that it is very important for citizens and the government to take precautions. Though the past one year has been very difficult for all of us, we still need to be very careful in the coming days, the chief minister told mediapersons here.

The government has decided to come up with certain restrictions in the next few days but it will be ensured that their impact on economic activities is bare minimum, Sangma said after a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the state.

There will be restrictions on movement of private vehicles. It will be different in different regions but in Shillong city and most of East Khasi Hills district, we will have an odd-even system coming up, he said.

Under the odd-even scheme, cars can be driven only on alternate days, depending on the last digit (odd or even) of their registration number.

It was decided at the meeting that those entering the state will have to be tested if they fail to produce a Covid negative test report not older than 72 hours.

Urging the people to follow Covid safety protocols, Sangma said, We need to ensure not to let our guards down to keep COVID-19 in check.

Meghalaya on Monday registered two new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 84,849. The death toll remained unchanged at 1,484.

The chief minister said there is a huge hesitancy factor among the citizens when it comes to taking the Covid-19 vaccines.

He said Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also in charge of the health department, launched the vaccination drive for the 15-18 year age group in the state capital and the response is good.