Shillong, Aug 30: The East Khasi Hills, Deputy Commissioner, Isawanda Laloo on Monday informed that from July 1 to August 29, this year out of 279 COVID-19 deaths in the district, 235 (85 percent) were not vaccinated with even a single dose.
According to Laloo, to prevent a third wave, it is important to speed up vaccination coverage.
“Therefore it is appealed to everyone who has not taken the vaccine to clarify their doubts and get vaccinated at the earliest,†the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner said.
She also urged the general public to come forward for their second dose of vaccination within the recommended time to get full protection against the disease.
According to Laloo, there are still many cases of persons coming to hospitals who have experienced symptoms for more than a week, with very low Oxygen saturation and at a stage where disease has progressed considerably.
The Deputy Commissioner, appealed to the public to go for early testing which is essential to ensure proper monitoring and prevent serious illness and death.
She also said that while positivity rate and number of cases in East Khasi Hills District have reduced, the total case load still stands at approximately 1300 in the entire district with around 65 percent of cases from urban areas and 35 percent from rural areas.
Laloo stated that with more activities and movement of persons being permitted, it is essential that there is no laxity in observing basic protocols to prevent another surge in cases.
According to her, there have been few instances of mass unregulated protest gatherings held without prior permission or basic safety protocols in the past week wherein it was seen that many people are without masks and no social distancing was observed.
The Deputy Commissioner said that this amounts to gross negligence on the part of the organizers at a time when efforts are being made to control cases so that most activities including livelihood-related activities can be resumed.
“While necessary action will be taken against such violators, it is emphasized that all should ensure basic compliance to prohibitory orders and orders issued under the Meghalaya Epidemic Disease, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 in the interest of public health,†Laloo added.