The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed all States and Union Territories (UTs) to implement the COVID-19 containment measures as had been conveyed in the advisory of the health ministry. The states and UTs were asked to implement the measures under relevant provisions of the Disaster Management (DM) Act.
The health ministry, in its advisory dated April 25, had asked the States and UTs to identify districts where either the tests positivity had been more than 10 percent or more in the last one week; or, where bed occupancy was more than 60 percent. These districts should be considered for taking intensive and local containment measures, the ministry had said.
“Local containment primarily focused on restricting intermingling of people is to be undertaken for a period of 14 days for breaking the chain of transmission duly following epidemiological principles. Classification of districts requiring intensive action and local containment is also to be undertaken by the State on a weekly basis and may also be made available online, besides being given due publicity in the media,” the health ministry had said.
The local containment will essentially focus on three strategic areas of intervention, which include containment, clinical management and community engagement, it had further said.
The fresh directive from the home ministry will be effective till May 31.
