India
States and UTs may impose local restrictions, with a view to containing the spread of COVID-19, the MHA guidelines said.
Updated : Nov 25, 2020, 04:54 PM IST | Edited by : Karishma Jain
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order on Wednesday with guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution, which will be effective from December 1, 2020, and to remain in force up to December 31, 2020.
States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may impose local restrictions, with a view to containing the spread of COVID-19, the MHA order said.
Local district, police and municipal authorities shall be responsible to ensure that the prescribed containment measures are strictly followed, a government release said.
1. States/UTs to ensure careful demarcation of containment zones by the district authorities. The list of containment zones will be notified on the websites by the States/ UTs.
2. Within the demarcated containment zones, containment measures, as prescribed by MoHFW, shall be followed, which include:
3. Only essential activities shall be allowed in the Containment Zones.
4. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining the supply of essential goods and services.
5. There shall be intensive house-to-house surveillance by surveillance teams formed for the purpose.
6. Testing shall be carried out as per the prescribed protocol.
7. Listing of contacts shall be carried out in respect of all persons found positive, along with their tracking, identification, quarantine and follow-up of contacts for 14 days.
8. Quick isolation of COVID-19 patients shall be ensured in treatment facilities/homes.
9. Clinical interventions, as prescribed, shall be administered.
10. Local district, police and municipal authorities shall be responsible to ensure that the prescribed Containment measures are strictly followed.
State/UT governments shall take all necessary measures to promote COVID-19 appropriate behavior and to ensure strict enforcement of wearing of face masks, hand hygiene and social distancing.
In order to enforce the core requirement of wearing of face masks, States and UTs may consider administrative actions, including the imposition of appropriate fines on persons not wearing face masks in public and workspaces.
For observance of social distancing in crowded places, especially in markets, weekly bazaars and public transport, MoHFW will issue SOPs, which shall be strictly enforced by States and UTs.
National directives for COVID-19 management shall continue to be followed throughout the country, so as to enforce COVID-19 appropriate behavior.
All activities have been permitted outside Containment Zones, except for the following, which have been permitted with certain restrictions:
States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may impose local restrictions, with a view to containing the spread of COVID-19 such as night curfew.
However, they shall not impose any local lockdown outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the Centre.
States and UTs also need to enforce social distancing in offices. In cities, where the weekly Case Positivity Rate is more than 10%, States and UTs concerned shall consider implementing staggered office timings.
There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movements.