Violation of COVID protocol! English daily, ‘The Shillong Times’ temporarily shut down

August 23: In what seems to be a unprecedented decision, the Meghalaya government has decided to temporarily shut down the second oldest English daily of Northeast India, ‘The Shillong Times.’ The decision was taken after three of the employees of the newspaper tested positive for COVID-19. This was informed through the official Twitter handle of the newspaper.

On Saturday night, in a tweet, The Shillong Times wrote, “With deep regret we inform our readers that we are the only media house in the world to have fallen victim to COVID-19! After 75 years of service, we got the stick from the government for alleged violation of health protocol. This means that ST will not hit the stands from August 23 onwards.”

In another tweet, the Shillong Times wrote, “The administration has declared our building as a containment area after three non-journalists tested COVID-19 positive. Despite all the protocols being in place, an official order picked holes where there was none.”

As per reports, Glanding Lyngdoh, the headman of Dorbar Shnong Kench’s Trace, Oxford Hill & Rilbong in a letter to the district administration urged to take steps to declare the office building of The Shillong Times, Rilbong as a containment building/area immediately for safety and security of all the residents in the locality and the public at large.