Meghalaya to welcome tourists from September 1; colleges, schools from class IX-XII to also resume

Fully vaccinated tousrists will be allowed to visit the state, while negative COVID test reports, conducted 72 hours before arrival in the state, will be mandatory for those who received the first dose of vaccines

Pic courtesy: PTI

Shillong: Meghalaya is all set to resume tourism in the state from September 1 and will be relaxing COVID protocols for travellers. Fully vaccinated tousrists will be allowed to visit the state, while negative COVID test reports, conducted 72 hours before arrival in the state, will be mandatory for those who received the first dose of the vaccine, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on August 26.

Taking to Twitter, the chief minister said, "Meghalaya will restart its tourism (sector) from 1st September 2021 with the following protocols: Fully vaccinated tourists will be allowed to visit the state for tourism-related purposes from 1st September, 2021."
He also said, "Tourists who are vaccinated with a single dose will have to produce negative RT-PCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT report valid only if they have tested within 72 hrs prior to their arrival at the entry point."

Residents of Meghalaya will also be allowed to visit any tourist destination in the state, he said.

The Meghalaya Cabinet on the same day also decided to resume physical classes in colleges from September 1, while schools in urban areas may be allowed to reopen for students of classes 9 to 12, he said. All schools in rural areas may also be allowed to reopen for students of classes 6 to 12, the CM said.

"The government has decided to reopen all colleges in Meghalaya from September 1. For schools in urban areas, Cl (class) 1-5 may have online classes, Cl 6-8 may have school visits & Cl 9-12 may be opened. For Schools in rural areas, Cl 1-5 may have school visits & Cl 6-12 may be opened," the chief minister said on the microblogging site.

The government had imposed lockdown across the state on May 5 amid the second wave of COVID-19 and has been relaxing the restrictions with an improvement in the pandemic situation. 

(With PTI inputs)