Amid an increase in Covid cases in some parts of the state, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said on Monday that wearing masks will be made mandatory for all health workers and in areas where a gathering is expected to be above 100 people.
Separately, the Chandigarh administration issued an advisory asking residents to strictly adhere to Covid -related “dos and don’ts” at public places, which include wearing masks in crowded areas and in closed settings as well. Vij was presiding over a meeting with senior Health Department officials on the arrangements and preparations to be made to check the spread of Covid. Vij said the Covid test will be mandatory for patients arriving at hospitals with symptoms of cough and cold.
Apart from this, he said that directions have been given to conduct the genome sequencing of patients who tested positive for Covid; an official statement is here, detailing the decision taken in the meeting. In its advisory, the Chandigarh Administration said “there has been a spurt in Covid cases in UT during recent days” and it has become imperative to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour in crowded places.
The UT administration has advocated preventive steps in Chandigarh to curtail transmission of the infection. An official statement said that residents must strictly adhere to the “dos and don’ts” at public places, which include wearing masks in crowded places and closed settings.
Doctors, paramedics, and other healthcare workers, as well as patients and their attendants, have to wear masks within healthcare facilities and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, it said.
Last week, the Haryana government issued fresh guidelines and asked all health facilities to examine the travel history of a suspected case who recently visited a country or an area where the virus has been reported.
Vij said there are 724 active patients in Haryana at present, but none of them are in the hospital.
He informed me that 25,404 Covid tests were conducted across the state last week.
The health minister said that following the Covid-related protocols will help curb the spread of infection. He advised everyone to practise social distancing and wear a mask for safety.
Testing, tracing, treatment, teamwork, tracking, and monitoring are being done in the state. Apart from this, instructions have also been issued to all civil surgeons in the state to double the testing, he said.
