Shillong, Mar 20 – Noting that there has not been a single case of COVID-19 detected in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday sought the cooperation of every citizen to fight this global pandemic disease.

“We need the cooperation of every citizen to fight Corona virus disease. Till date, there has not been a single case detected in our state of Meghalaya, but that does not mean we can be complacent,” Sangma said in his address to the citizens of the State.

“The next four weeks are crucial for our state to break the transmission chain of the virus,” he said appealing to every citizen of the state to adhere to all the guidelines and advisories issued by the state government.

“We must remember that India is currently at Stage 2 of the pandemic and we must all do our part to ensure that the country does not transition into Stage 3 or 4,” the Chief Minister stated.

Sangma also urged students, working professionals private and government who had travel history in the last 14 days to inform the government either by calling the helpline number ‘108’ or respective Deputy Commissioner Office control room or by registering on the online registration system (meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid).

“I would also urge them to kindly maintain social distancing including self quarantine, and maintain personal hygiene like handwash protocol,” the Chief Minister said.

Urging people to postpone all personal, professional and social activities during this crucial time, the Chief Minister urging the citizens to observed March 21 as Corona Virus Awareness Day where all offices, banks (government and private), institutions, public places, market places and public transport will remain closed.

“I urge citizens to not look at this as a “Lockdown” but this time must be utilized and observed as a ‘Corona virus Awareness Day’ to understand and prevent the spread of Corona virus disease in the state by playing our part as individuals, families, locality and society at large,” he said.

Exhorting the traditional village chiefs to take proactive steps to identify and inform the government on anyone showing symptoms of the disease, Sangma assured that medical volunteers and district surveillance team members will reach out to those identified households through phone or make visits if necessary to provide necessary guidance and care to those families for next 14 days.

Informing that the government is taking all necessary steps to maintain essential commodities, the Chief Minister further appealed to every citizen to not panic and try to remain calm and also not to stigmatize any person suspected of corona virus.

Underscoring the need to follow the prescribed guidelines, Sangma said “the guidelines will reap huge dividends, therefore please avoid social gatherings (i.e social distancing), practice social distancing, maintain hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.”