Shillong: The Meghalaya Government has cautioned the general public on COVID-19 against any laxity which could lead to a spike in cases, even as the State is witnessing a steady decline of fresh cases, health official said on Monday.
The COVID-19 virus has affected 13,962people in the whole State within a span of 10 months of whom 148 have lost their lives.
East Khasi Hills district, including Shillong which is the most affected district, 8676 people have been affected and 122 have succumbed to the virus.
Cautioning the public that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from being over, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare, P Sampath Kumar said, Worldwide, many countries are showing a sudden increase in the number of cases on a daily basis.
In India also, many states are experiencing a sudden increase in the number of cases. Another serious concern is the appearance of new strains of the novel coronavirus.
“Everybody need to realize that if we are ever to return to some semblance of normality, then the world’s population needs to be immune to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This can be achieved by either: i) natural infection or ii) vaccines,” he said.
Kumar said that the current Covishield vaccine which is being used in Meghalaya is effective only after two weeks from the date of receiving the second dose, which is given after a gap of 4 weeks after the first dose.
“Those who have received the first dose, must track their due dates and get vaccinated with the second dose without undue delay. We have vaccinated over 40,000 healthcare and frontline workers in the State. There has been no major adverse effects following the immunisation.” the health official said.
Kumar made it clear that the vaccines would only help to reduce the severity of the disease and chances of hospitalization and not the infection.
Moreover, Kumar stressed on the need to continue our life with Covid Appropriate Behaviour consisting of 3 Ws by wearing masks properly covering nose and mouth,
Wash hands frequently, particularly after touching any surface and maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from each other.
