New Delhi: The Central government on Friday asked all the states to take action against anybody not supporting the 14-days-routine quarantine.
"The state government can take action under Epidemic Disease Act against any individual not cooperating in the 14 days of quarantine," said Luv Agarwal, joint secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Replying to a query from ETV Bharat, Agarwal said that state governments have been advised to take all necessary precautions and actions to prevent COVID-19 from getting spread in the community.
Under the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, the state government can fine people or imprison them for violating rules and regulations that will be set to contain the outbreak.
Under Section 2 of the Act, a person can be fined with Rs 1,000 or face imprisonment for six months or both, if found violating laws.
The suggestion given by the Centre assumes significance following reports that people are escaping the quarantine facility.
In fact, the Centre last week invoked the Epidemic Act, 1897 to prevent spread of coronavirus. The Act was formulated in the pre-Independce era to control plague in the late 1800s.
India is still in stage 2 of COVID-19 which means there is no community transmission of the disease.
"To stop community transmission, all the state government have been advised to popularize social distancing," said Agarwal.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has asked the hospitals to take all precautions to stop community transmission.
In a letter issued to Safdarjung hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College & Associated Hospitals for proper triaging of patients through a screening OPD at the point of entry in the OPD to separate any patient of fever and respiratory diseases, who can be then send to a special OPD.
"This will ensure that the person does not affect the normal patients or health care workers," the letter said.
It has further suggested that all the previously registered patients of these hospitals can be sent an SMS message to come to the hospital only when absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, as per Health Ministry officials India presently has 196 active Covid 19 cases while 22 have been discharged.
The Health Ministry also recorded 1 migrated Covid 19 patient where as four people have already died.
As many as 20 states have been affected by this pandemic.
