Meghalaya to go ahead with decision on closure of entry points in spite of MHA's 'warning'

Guwahati: Despite the Union Home Ministry's directive to the states/UTs to open up their borders and allow inter-state and intrastate travel, the Meghalaya Government has decided to go ahead with its decision to close all the entry points to the state from next month onwards.

After the review meeting held on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the issue related to the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs was discussed in view of the recent decision taken by the Meghalaya Government.

"We have therefore decided that the decision to close down all entry points will continue. The decision was taken to ease the pressure of the frontline health workers, who has to run and man the entry points round the clock," Tynsong informed media persons.

Prestone Tynsong said that it is humanly impossible for the frontline workers to work round the clock without any break.

"Therefore, the government has decided to implement its decision to close down the entry points and notification in this regard has also come out which excludes transit movement," Tynsong added.

Tynsong said that this breather would also allow the State Government to "disinfect" the entry points leading into Meghalaya.

Close on the heels of community transmission murmurs in Meghalaya's capital city of Shillong, the state government has decided to close all entry points to the state for 1 week every month in the next 3 months.

This move has been taken to reduce the heavy burden on the state's frontline workers amid a massive boom in the number of coronavirus cases. The state's health machinery has now focused much of its efforts towards conducting random rapid antigen tests in the state to gauge the extent of the virus transmission in the state.

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