A REPORTER
SHILLONG: The Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills district informed the general public that in pursuance to the Government order, the following protocols for those frequenting Guwahati/bordering areas of Assam for a brief period for the purposes of discharging their official duties, transporting passengers to airport and railway stations or other essential works. Accordingly, the following protocol is issued with immediate effect to ensure proper safety and smooth movement of people.
The order states that all such persons should register in the Meghalaya portal for e-pass and obtain the inter-state transit pass from the Deputy Commissioner, travel should be for essential purposes only and frequent travel is not recommended. It also states that the vehicles used for this purpose should be limited and systematically managed. All the drivers engaged for this purpose should be given individualized training on health safety protocols, concerned department/ office may take the help of the District Health and Medical Officer for this training and they are also advised to download and use the Aarogya Setu App.
The Number of passengers in a car should not be more than 3 apart from the driver for a 4/5-seater car and not more than 4 persons for a 6/8-seater car. Wearing of Mask is mandatorily for those travelling in the car at all times, the windows should be kept open for proper ventilation and any taxi/ hire transportation should have adequate hand sanitizer within the car. Hand hygiene, wearing of masks and use of hand sanitizer shall be mandatory during the travel.
According to the protocols, all persons entering the screening point shall be checked by the IR thermometer / thermal scanner for any symptoms. In addition, RTK (anti-body testing) will also be done on entering the screening point and they will be allowed to enter only on testing negative. Once tested positive, they need to be quarantined and tested for RT- PCR. The Deputy Commissioner also stated that visit to any containment zone is not permitted and should not be undertaken.