E-Paper
Now, 14-day home quarantine must for people visiting Chandigarh for over 72 hours
Violators to be put in institutional quarantine, can face fine or even jail, says UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida
The UT administration on Monday made 14-day self home quarantine mandatory for all visitors to Chandigarh who intend to stay here for more than 72 hours. A visitor violating home quarantine will be shifted to institutional quarantine, and can face fine or even jail under provisions of the Disaster Management Act.
The mandatory home quarantine will not be applicable to Mohali or Panchkula residents travelling to the city.
Currently, the UT has open borders with only random screening at the city’s entry points and an advise for self quarantine. Those visiting the city from outside the tricity have to register themselves with the administration on its website, and carry an online self-generated form detailing their antecedents. Police can penalise visitors without the forms.
WHY CHANGE IN POLICY
The decision came after, in the daily review meeting, UT administrator VPS Badnore expressed concern over the rise in number of Covid-19 cases. He noted that in the recent past, most positive cases have been found among people coming from outside.
More than 50% of cases reported in the city in the past week have either been of those with travel history or their contacts. Also, with the lockdown restrictions removed, tracing community contacts of positive patients has become a tough task for municipal corporation teams.
“Many casual visitors are coming here, keeping in view easy availability of medical facility and absence of mandatory quarantine conditions. We need to discourage such avoidable visits. Chandigarh hospitals need not get congested by crowds overflowing from outside the tricity,” said UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida.
DETAILED ORDER AWAITED
Badnore directed Arun Kumar Gupta, principal secretary, health, to issue specific orders regarding the mandatory self-home quarantine for visitors. These are expected on Tuesday.
Stating that visitors who violate the mandatory quarantine will be penalised, Parida said, “We will pick them up and put them in institutional quarantine. Under the Disaster Management Act, they can be fined and jailed too. Police will keep a tab on movement of visitors and on any such violation.”
However, the administration is unlikely to paste quarantine notices outside houses of such visitors, said an official.
Badnore also appealed to residents’ welfare associations, voluntary agencies and social activists to co-operate with the health and police authorities in monitoring the stay and movement of persons coming from outside.
