The Meghalaya government on Tuesday appealed to thousands of citizens stranded in different parts of the country, excluding the Northeast, to remain where they are at least till the end of this month.

This appeal came from deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong on a day when 284 citizens, who were stranded in various states of the region, entered Meghalaya through four check points.

Tynsong said of the 284 citizens, 32 entered from Ratacherra in East Jaiñtia Hills, 205 from Byrnihat in Ri Bhoi, 39 from Bajengdoba in North Garo Hills, and eight from Tikrikilla in West Garo Hills.

He said these had come on their own, and were properly screened by medical teams at the check points. The screening results found them to have no symptoms of Covid-19.

Tynsong said all of them were advised to go to their respective homes and to observe 14 days’ quarantine. During the quarantining period, the government will provide essential commodities.

He said the second batch of citizens, who would be coming with government-arranged transportation, are likely to reach by Wednesday morning.

There are more than 2,400 citizens stranded in different states, particularly in Assam, since the lockdown began in March.

The government has allowed only those citizens who have pre-registered to enter the state.

The deputy chief minister appealed to more than 8,000 citizens stranded in other parts of the country to remain where they are at least till the end of this month.

He said as and when they return to the state, those coming from red zone areas would have to undergo a 28-day home quarantine.

Tynsong said the government will allow the reopening of repair workshops owned by vehicle dealers across the state from Wednesday. However, he said these workshops would have to undertake repairs only of both light and heavy vehicles, and heavy machinery.

The government has warned that it could nullify the order to reopen liquor stores following a breach of social-distancing protocol by consumers. On Monday, wine stores across the state were allowed to reopen. But there were reports of largescale breach of social-distancing norms.

“Yesterday, we noticed that those who were queuing in front of wine shops had completely violated social-distancing norms. We urge the citizens to maintain social distancing. Do not compromise with this protocol. It is for your own safety,” he said.

He reminded citizens that the war against Covid-19 was far from over. He said till Tuesday, 1,944 samples were tested, of which 1,822 samples tested negative for the virus while the results of 110 samples were awaited.

He also said 10 patients have fully recovered while the test report of one of the patients was yet to arrive.

The first test report of the eleventh active patient had come out negative while the second report turned out positive. As per protocol, another test was conducted.

Chief minister Conrad K. Sangma said the eleventh patient who was positive “was retested and unfortunately the results are still positive”.

He said another test would be done after three days.

Meghalaya had detected its first Covid-19 patient on April 13. However, the patient passed away two days later. From the first patient, another 11 cases were detected.