Doctors, health staff and regular patients in Punjab no longer require curfew passes

Health department staff, doctors and regular patients no longer need curfew passes under fresh guidelines issued by the Punjab government. Banks/ ATMs also allowed to operate through the week, Postal and courier services have now been exempted from curfew restrictions.

Chandigarh:Health department staff, doctors and regular patients in Punjab will no longer require curfew passes, while Banks/ATMs will be allowed to operate the whole week, subject to maintenance of COVID-19 protocols, under the revised guidelines issued by the state government on Tuesday.

The new guidelines have been issued by the Home Department, following yesterday’s review of COVID-19 preparedness with the Group of Ministers by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, according to an official spokesperson. The guidelines are aimed at streamlining systems in the public interest while ensuring compliances.

According to the new instructions, the District Magistrates have been formally asked to extend curfew beyond March 31, 2020, up to April 14, 2020. While the relaxations already granted would continue, the post offices and courier services have additionally been allowed to operate under the fresh guidelines. Banks and ATMs have been allowed to operate for the whole week as against two-days a week allowed earlier, subject to the condition that social distance norms are maintained.

Employees of the Health & Medical Education Departments have now been permitted to work on the basis of their identity cards issued by their concerned departments. Hence, they would not be required to take separate curfew passes.

Similarly, all the doctors of the private hospitals/nursing homes/diagnostic laboratories would be allowed to work without curfew passes on the basis of their photo ID Cards issued by the Punjab Medical/Dental Council or Indian Medical Association. Other employees of private nursing homes would be granted bulk curfew passes on the request of the administrator of the concerned hospital.

Patients would now be allowed to visit all hospitals, including private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic laboratories, on the basis of patient cards/prescription slips issued by the hospital and nursing homes. New patients would be allowed to move only with an e-pass. However, serious patients would be allowed to go to hospitals without any pass or cards.

The guidelines further stipulate that the drug-dependent persons would be allowed to visit the Out Patient Opioid Assisted Treatment Clinics/de-addiction centres on the basis of the prescription slip/cards issued by the centre.

The district authorities have also been instructed to ensure strict adherence of protocol for foreign travellers as already applicable to such persons.

Any person entering the state from other states need to be home quarantined, if asymptomatic, and hospital quarantined or to be kept in isolation ward if symptomatic, as per the guidelines of the health department, as per the guidelines.