Centre issues new COVID-19 guidelines | Fusion - WeRIndia

In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) yesterday issued new guidelines. These guidelines will be effective from April 1 to April 30.

The new guidelines emphasize the need to follow the Test-Track-Treat protocol in all states and union territories across the country.

Here is a list of new COVID guidelines:

• The Centre asks all states and UTs to scale up the vaccination drive. Currently, the vaccine drive is going on slowly in the country, and most doses are getting wasted in many states. Hence, it asks all states and UTs to cover the target group.
• It also mandates all states and UTs to enforce the Test-Track-Treat protocol. They shall increase RT-PCR tests to 70 per cent.
• If new positive cases are identified, they need to isolated or quarantined. Timely treatment shall be provided to them. Contact tracing shall be done to control the transmission.
• States and UTs shall enforce containment strategy. Containment zones shall be maintained as per the prescribed guidelines of MoHFW. This list shall be notified on the websites and shared with MoHFW regularly.
• In containment zones, intensive house-to-house surveillance and contact tracing shall be done.
• All states and UTs shall take proper preventive measures to control COVID-19. People shall follow COVID-19 protocols in workplaces and crowded places.
• States and UTs shall strictly enforce these rules like wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing etc. They shall impose fines on those who do not follow COVID-19 protocols.
• To enforce COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and manage COVID-19 across the country, national directives shall be followed.
• States or UTs may impose local restrictions to control the transmission of COVID-19. However, there shall not be any inter-state and intra-state restriction on the movement of people and goods. There is no restriction for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries. No separate permission is needed for such movements.
• The Centre issued SOPs for several activities outside the containment zones. These may vary from time to time.

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