A five-day complete lockdown was announced by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday, in East Khasi Hills district and a weekend lockdown in other districts, due to increasing COVID-19 cases.

The CM said to reporters, “The number of active cases in the state has reached 2000 in number. We are looking at Shillong having a positivity rate of 17 per cent. East Khasi Hills has a positivity rate of 12 per cent.”

“In Shillong, the total number of occupancy of beds has reached 60 per cent. We are heading towards a serious situation. Several steps will be taken to contain the situation,” he added.

“Looking at the alarming rate at which the numbers are growing, we need to go for stricter measures in certain locations where the numbers are rising,” he said.

Weekend lockdown will be imposed in other districts of the state to curb the spread of COVID.