COVID-19: 'The Shillong Times' building tagged as Containment Area

The District Magistrate East Khasi Hills has declared nine more containment areas in Shillong city including The Shillong Times building.

The areas which was tagged under containment areas are:

1. Mathura compound at Jhalupara.
2. Horju Roy compound at Jeep Stand.
3. Quarter No. C-8, Quarter No.B-2, Quarter No. A-11, Quarter No. C-45, Quarter No. C-23 and Quarter No. C-19 of Survey of India, Barik, Shillong.
4. House of Martian Mawthoh at Riat Bharat, Malki Nongshiliang.
5. The building of Mrs. Ponoli Lyngdoh at Rilbong Dunoon compound near Meghna Marak building and the house of Mr. Arjun Kumar Rai, Mr. Debu Sarkar and Mohon Biswa at Oxford Hills, Maxwelton Estate, Rilbong.
6. The building of Mrs. Highly L Lamare at New Kench's Trace, Bishnupur.
7. R Kurbah compound, Mawlonghat (adjacent to Punjabi Lane).
8. Ramon Cottage at Oakland
9. The office building and staff quarters of The Shillong Times.

Notably, the office building and staff quarters of The Shillong Times marked as containment area following  three non-journalists tested positive for the dreaded virus.

'There has been a recent high risk and low-risk contact with the COVID-19 positive cases, vulnerable and affected areas require aggressive contact tracing, quarantine, testing and isolation as well as containment in the interest of the health of general public against any possible spread of COVID-19", Deputy Commissioner said in an order issued.

Taking to Facebook, the oldest English broadsheet newspaper in the Northeast, 'The Shillong Times' expressed "With deep regret we inform our readers that we are the only media house in the world to have fallen victim to COVID-19! After 75 years of service, we got the stick from the government for alleged violation of health protocol. This means that ST will not hit the stands from August 23 onwards."

The 75-year-old newspaper added "The administration has declared our building as a containment area after three non-journalists tested COVID-19 positive. Despite all the protocols being in place, an official order picked holes where there was none."

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