COVID-19: Meghalaya extends night curfew, ban on inter-state movement of people till June 30

Shillong, June 21: The Meghalaya government has extended the night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am till June 30 to contain the spread of coronavirus, officials said on Sunday. The night curfew was to be in force till Monday.

The state government has also extended the ban on inter-state movement of people till June 30, they said. "District deputy commissioners have been asked to issue extension of night curfew orders and directives to extend ban on inter-state movement of people," a senior government official told PTI.

The official orders, however, will not apply to security forces, medical teams on duty, wholesale and retail pharmacies and other essential services, he said. As part of measures to ease the lockdown norms, the Meghalaya government has allowed operationalisation of over 400 shops out of the 1,222 shops identified at the IewDuh market, from Monday.

It has also allowed operations of beauty parlours, salons and barber shops but in strict adherence to social distancing norms and stipulated time limits, the official said.

Weekly markets across the state, except the ones in areas along the India-Bangladesh border and the inter-state border with Assam, have got the nod to open, too. Educational institutions will continue to remain closed along with religious places, he said, adding, large public gatherings are also not allowed.

Meanwhile, the state's COVID-19 recovery rate rose to 84 per cent after five more patients were cured on Saturday, a health official said. Meghalaya has reported a total of 44 coronavirus cases, making it the state with the "least number of infections", the official said.

"Meghalaya - 5 more persons have recovered and test negative for COVID19. Total cases: 44. Total active cases: 6. Recovered: 37," Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in a tweet.