'NEHU will be last resort as quarantine centre'

    11-May-2020
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Newmai News Network
Shillong, May 11: The Government of Meghalaya has assured that the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) campus will only be used as a Covid-19 quarantine centre as a last resort.
This assurance was given by Health Minister A L Hek to president of the NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), Professor Xavier Mao after the latter had written to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to express concerns over the Government’s decision to use the NEHU campus as a Covid-19 quarantine centre.
“The Health Minister informed the president of NEHUTA that the NEHU facility will be used only if the number of cases increases and if there are no other places available to put the patients. Going by this the Government of Meghalaya has taken care of safety aspect of campus residents, which was the concern of NEHUTA,” the general secretary of NEHUTA Dr. Marbhador M Khymdeit informed on Monday.
Dr. Khymdeit also pointed out that NEHUTA has expressed its support for Government of Meghalaya in its fight against Covid-19 and did not intend any obstruction to the work carried out by the government at any level.
“However, being the teachers’ body, the safety of campus residents and non transmission remains its due concerns,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, NEHUTA has also expressed its dissatisfaction over what it termed as the ‘unilateral decision’ of the NEHU administration in agreeing to give NEHU for quarantine without consulting the stakeholders.
“Considering possible delay in completion of academic semesters, the NEHUTA believes that NEHU VC should have consulted the students and the teachers before setting up the quarantine. Because of this lack of consultation, there is some room to create confusion in who has allowed NEHU to be the quarantine centre, given that it is a residential area,” he said.