Covid-19-related regulations in India will come to an end on Friday, two years after the Centre announced the installation of limitations following the pandemic’s breakout, citing a steady decline in cases across the country. The wearing of face masks and upholding social separation standards, according to the home ministry, will continue.
On Thursday, several states voted to abolish all pandemic-related restrictions, including the requirement to wear face masks. Maharashtra, one of the worst-affected states, and West Bengal have stated that all Covid-related restrictions will be eliminated, while Delhi has decided to abolish the requirement that people wear face masks in public areas.
In a letter to all state chief secretaries last week, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla stated that significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of pandemic management, including diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, vaccination, and hospital infrastructure, over the last 24 months.
“After considering the overall improvement in the situation and the government’s preparation to deal with the pandemic, the National Disaster Management Authority has decided that the provisions of the DM Act for COVID containment measures may not be needed anymore.”
On March 24, 2020, the central government published the first instructions and directions under the Disaster Management Act (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of Covid-19 in the country, which has since been updated.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
According to Bhalla, the Ministry of Home Affairs would not issue any further orders when the current order expires on March 31.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s instructions on Covid containment measures, on the other hand, will continue to guide the entire national response to the pandemic, he said. Face masks and hand hygiene are among the recommendations.
The MHA has stated that, because of the nature of the sickness, citizens must continue to keep a close eye on the situation. In situations where the Health Ministry has directed states and UTs to take early and proactive action at the local level, the Centre has urged them to do so. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and recommendations that have been established Vaccination will be needed to follow any containment measures that have been or are being issued by the Ministry of Health.
“I would, therefore, advise all States and UTs to consider appropriately terminating issue of orders and instructions under the DM Act, 2005 for COVID containment measures,” the Union Home Secretary said.
Meanwhile, India’s Covid tally jumped to 4,30,24,440 after 1,225 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in a single day, although active cases fell to 14,307, according to the Union health ministry. According to data updated at 8 a.m., the death toll had risen to 5,21,129, with 28 more fatalities. According to the ministry, active cases account for 0.03 percent of total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remains at 98.76 percent.
Over the course of 24 hours, the active COVID-19 caseload was reduced by 397 cases. The daily Covid positivity rate was 0.20 percent, while the weekly positivity rate was 0.23 percent across the country. On June 23, last year, India’s COVID-19 tally topped the three-crore mark.
