Shillong: The Meghalaya government has ruled out the possibility of imposing lockdown in the state.
''Due to previous lockdown and COVID-19, people have suffered a lot. The question of imposing lockdown does not arise as of now,'' Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Wednesday.
''Lockdown will be the last resort to tackle the pandemic,'' he added.
He further said that as a precautionary measure, the state government has decided to extend the winter vacation for schools and colleges till January 24.
Commenting on the hospitals and other necessary facilities, Tysong said that the hospitals are fully equipped with all the required facilities such as beds and oxygen supplies to deal with the COVID-19 situation in the state.
Asserting that the third wave of COVID-19 has already started, he asked people to get vaccinated so that they could save themselves from the deadly virus.
On Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too had said that there would be no lockdown in the state.
''We need to follow the COVID protocols as the cases are rising in the state but there will be no lockdown in the state as of now,'' he said while speaking to media on Wednesday.
''We will have to move on without hampering the economy and livelihood of the people,'' he added.
Commenting on the omicron variant, the Chief Minister had said that this too increasing in the country and with this third wave could hit the country soon. However, to tackle this, a review meeting will be held.
''A meeting will be conducted with the health department on Thursday to discuss how we can handle the omicron situation in the state,'' he said.
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