After declaring the BSF campus at Umpling a containment zone, the Meghalaya government has decided to conduct random testing of people in areas close to the BSF campus from Saturday.
“We discussed how to make Umpling area safe after seeing the rise of positive cases from the BSF campus,” deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters on Friday.
He said as the BSF campus in Umpling area has been declared containment zone, nobody would be allowed to go in or come out of the BSF campus.
BSF personnel who are coming to the state would be taken to quarantine centres and they cannot go to the campus.
“Strict protocols have to be adhered to by all to be able to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.
The deputy chief minister added that BSF authority has also agreed that the return of BSF personnel to Meghalaya should be put on hold.
Tynsong informed that temporary closure of NEIGRIHMS has been done and sanitization of the hospital is being done after one BSF personnel who was admitted in the hospital was tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Tynsong said that it was also decided that from Saturday, random testing of people would begin at Umpling-Rynjah, Mawpat, and Nongmensong.
“The health department will discuss with representatives of Dorbar Shnongs and local COVID-19 management committee on how to move forward,” he said.