GUWAHATI: The surge in Covid cases has made Arunachal Pradesh decide on allowing the entry of only vaccinated people into the state.
The decision was made following Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s videoconference with the chief secretaries of the states in the Northeast and the Union Territories on Wednesday.
“We are ensuring that anyone willing to visit the state has to be vaccinated,” Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar said.
Till Wednesday, Arunachal recorded 38,283 Covid cases, including 184 deaths. Altogether 36,736 people have recovered.
The state, which has vaccinated 68% of its population, requested the Central government for an additional three lakh vaccine doses.
Kumar said the state adopted a three-pronged strategy – extensive tracking and testing, enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour, and vaccination – to check the virus spread. He said health infrastructure is being improved in the state.
The state’s vaccination drive has been affected to some extent in rural areas by rumours that people will become impotent or die in two years’ time following vaccination.
To promote vaccination, officials at the Yazali circle in the state’s Lower Subansiri district had to announce that people aged above 45 years would be offered 20 kg of rice for free following vaccination.