Helicopter services in Meghalaya to resume from October 1

The government of Meghalaya has decided to permit the resumption of helicopter services from October 1

Shillong: Taking another bold step towards 'unlocking' the state after over 6 months of the imposition of curbs to arrest the spread of COVID, the government of Meghalaya has decided to permit the resumption of helicopter services from October 1.

Meghalaya Chief Secretary, M.S. Rao, in a notification, wrote that the permission "is subject to compliance with the SoP being issued by the Transport Department, Government of Meghalaya, and strict adherence to the social distancing protocols of the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Meghalaya."

The Chief Secretary further added that War Nongbri, the Deputy Commissioner of the East Khasi Hills shall ensure strict compliance to these guidelines and regulate the activities depending on the local situation and meet the social distancing norms.

In another development, the places of worship in the state shall also be reopened to the public from October 1 onwards.

The decision to reopen the places of worship was taken after the finalization of the SOPs with religious leaders under the banner of the Shillong All Faith Forum (SAFF).

Meghalaya's Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong has informed that the respective deputy commissioners have to ensure strict compliance to the guidelines and also regulate the activities to meet the social distancing norms to ensure safety in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

At the same time, 80 new cases were registered, bringing the total active cases to 1772 in the state.

In Meghalaya, 285 COVID-19 patients recovered on Friday taking the total number of recoveries to 3343.

So far, Meghalaya has detected a total of 5158 COVID 19 cases. Out of these, 1772 are active, 3343 have recovered and 43 have died.