SHILLONG, Aug 6 - Restrictions have been lifted from 10 existing containment zones in Meghalaya today, while in their place, 18 �micro� areas have been notified as containment zones in the State capital.
Based on the recommendation of the Health Department, the Meghalaya Government has decided to introduce these micro containment zones. Earlier, the Health Department used to notify an entire locality as a containment zone when one or two persons tested positive.
This system caused a great deal of inconvenience to the residents of the localities, and also led to stigmatization like denial of admission to hospitals. A woman lost her newborn after being denied admission to a hospital as she hailed from a then containment zone.
The Health Department has now decided to contain a specific house or building where the positive case or cases are reported and let the other residents of the locality go through their everyday routine without hindrance.
Meanwhile, 51 new positive cases were registered today, taking the total active cases in the State to 640. Six patients also recovered from the infection. The total recovery has gone up to 345, Health officials said.
Out of the 51 new cases, 19 are from Ri-Bhoi district, 17 from East Khasi Hills, 14 from West Garo Hills and one from West Jaintia Hills. A large number of BSF and armed forces personnel are among those who have tested positive.
Health officials said that so far 39,782 samples have been sent for testing and 38,412 of them have tested negative. The results of 380 samples are awaited. Moreover, 25,767 people have also returned home from various parts of the country.
