The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday has published new guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution during the rise in coronavirus cases. The new guideline allows the few states and Union Territories to impose local restrictions to contain the spread of the infection based on the situation of the area.
The new month-long guidelines will go in effect from December 1 and will continue to remain in force up to December 31.
The ministry said that the main focus of the guidelines is to consolidate the substantial gains that have been achieved against the spread of the deadly disease which is visible in the steady decline in the number of active cases in the country.
The ministry statement said, "Keeping in view the recent spike in new cases in few states and UTs, ongoing festival season and onset of winter, it is emphasised that to fully overcome the pandemic, there is need to maintain caution and to strictly follow the prescribed containment strategy, focused on surveillance, containment and strict observance of the guidelines or SOPs issued by MHA and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW).”
According to the guidelines released by the home ministry, the state and UT governments cannot impose local lockdown outside the containment zones, without prior discussion with the central government.
Local district, police and municipal authorities shall be responsible to assure that the prescribed containment measures and Covid-19 safety protocols are strictly followed.
"States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may impose local restrictions, to contain the spread of Covid-19," the Ministry said.
The move has been taken after some states have witnessed a surge in the number of covid cases. On Wednesday India added 44,376 cases taking the total tally to 92,22,216.
Also Read: Once again, Punjab CM imposes night curfew from December 1
States including Delhi, Mumbai, and West Bengal have been registering a drastic increase in covid cases, claiming many lives regularly.
Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with 84,238 active cases and 46,683 deaths so far. The recoveries in the state stand at 16,58,879. Maharashtra is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in recording a high number of cases.