Focus on Covid-19 test-track-treat, may impose district-level lockdown: Centre

The ministry of home affairs on Tuesday issued a new guideline, to be effective from April 1, urging the state and Union territory authorities to focus on testing, tracking and treating Covid-19 cases. As the number of fresh infections in the country is skyrocketing and local restrictions are coming back, the Centre in its new directive made it clear that such restrictions are okay to be imposed at district/ sub-district and city/ ward level, ruling out statewide lockdown at this situation. It also said there will be no bar on the inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. The guideline will remain effective till April 30, it said.

"There shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods including those for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements," it said.

The new rules are to address the sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the order said.

All those above 45 years will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccine from April 1

Most of the new orders have been derived from the recent discussion held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the heads of the states and the Union territories. Apart from increasing the proportion of RT-PCR tests to the prescribed 70 per cent, states will have to bring back their focus on tracking cases, isolating and treating them while demarcating containment zones like they did last year, it said.

"Local district, police and municipal authorities shall be responsible to ensure that the prescribed Containment measures are strictly followed and State/ UT Governments shall ensure the accountability of the officers concerned in this regard," the new order said.

With several districts, cities going under fresh lockdown in the wake of what is being considered as the second wave of Covid-19, the Centre said states and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may impose local restrictions, at district/ sub-district and city/ ward level, with a view to containing the spread of Covid-19.

On vaccination, the Centre said that the pace is uneven across different states and UTs and the slow pace in some states is a matter of concern. "Vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission," it said.