Lockdown 2.0: Hospitals, nursing homes, facilities for AYUSH services will be open
Authorised private institutions providing home care services and diagnostics, and those involved in the supply chains of hospitals will be allowed to operate even inside containment areas, according to the guidelines.
All health care facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and even facilities providing AYUSH services, will be operational during the extended lockdown till May 3, according to guidelines from the home ministry.
Doctors and medical workers in protective face masks and hairnets at a Covid-19 help desk in Gurugram. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)
All pharmacies, including government-run Jan Aushadhi Kendras, and laboratories will also be open during the lockdown to support treatment.
Veterinary hospitals, clinics, dispensaries and pathology laboratories too remain open.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the lockdown would be extended by 19 days till May 3.
Authorised private institutions providing home care services and diagnostics, and those involved in the supply chains of hospitals will be allowed to operate even inside containment areas, according to the guidelines.
All institutions and laboratories conducting Covid-19 related research will also remain open.
For personnel working in hospitals and laboratories, the government has allowed the free movement of all medical and veterinary staff, hospital support staff and scientists within and outside their home state, including by air travel, the guidelines state.
The government has also decided to keep health-related manufacturing units open. This will include facilities manufacturing drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and oxygen, packaging material needed for these items, and those involved in the supply chain.
Construction of health infrastructure, including ambulances, too will be allowed during the lockdown.