Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 450/20

TRAINING ON BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR COVID-19

The two day Master Training of Trainers for Meghalaya organized by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Meghalaya for officials of all Government Departments on the subject, “Behaviour Change for COVID-19” was inaugurated today by the Meghalaya Chief Secretary, Shri M. S. Rao at Yojana Bhavan Auditorium, Main Secretariat building, Shillong. Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, the Chief Secretary, Shri M. S. Rao said that as the state, we have done very well in containing the spread of COVID-19, adding that “as of today, Meghalaya is one of the states in the country having the least number of active cases”. The Chief Secretary acknowledged the role played by various departments, headmen and the community for their cooperation and support to contain the spread of COVID-19. Emphasizing on the need to get rid of the fear and stigmatization of people affected by the virus, the Chief Secretary appealed to the people to have empathy with the affected people and urged the people to be cautious while sharing any information in social media by cross checking fact to avoid any misinformation which can create panic in the mind of the people. The Chief Secretary also expressed hope that the master trainers will be able to reach out to all people and particularly to persons above 60 years of age and persons with co-morbidities, drivers and handymen who are doing yeomen service carrying essential commodities to the state and traffic police. Lastly, Shri Rao called upon the citizens of the state to fight the virus by strictly following the health protocols and personal hygiene like hand washing, hand sanitization, mask wearing, maintaining physical distance, avoiding crowding and not to spit in public places.

The programme was also attended by the Commissioner and Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Shri Sampath Kumar, Joint Secretary of Health and Family Welfare cum Mission Director, NHM, Shri Ram Kumar, DHS (MI), Dr. A. Warr, DHS (MCH&FW), Dr. N. Wanswett, Dr. M. Marbaniang, SSO, SDSP and officers from various government departments. The topics for the technical sessions include an introduction to COVID-19, current status of the situation at global and national levels, how to cope with life in COVID times, some common myths, taking care at home and frequently asked questions (FAQs), taking care in the workplace, behavioral change model to live with Covid and introduction to the training mobile application. The resource persons for the day are Dr. N. Roy, SMO, WHO, Dr. M. Marbaniang, SSO, IDSP, Dr. S. Kharkongor, Training Coordinator, NHM, Mr. M. Nongpiur and Mr. P. Hadem officials from NIC.