Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 23: The Home Ministry has decided to discontinue all COVID-19 containment measures on March 31, two years after they were implemented following the beginning of the pandemic, due to the continuing drop in coronavirus cases.
Wearing a face mask and adhering to social distance rules, on the other hand, will continue as before.
On March 24, 2020, the central government published the first instructions and directions under the Disaster Management Act (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of COVID-19 in the country, which have since been updated.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla stated in a letter to all state chief secretaries that tremendous capacity has been built for several elements of pandemic management, including diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, immunisation, and hospital facilities, over the last 24 months.
He also stated that the general public is now much more aware of COVID-appropriate behaviour.
The states and union territories have also created their own capacities and processes, as well as detailed particular strategies for handling the epidemic, he added, adding that the number of cases has dropped dramatically in the previous seven weeks or so.
The Home Secretary, on the other hand, stated that due to the nature of the disease, people must to remain watchful of the situation.
He noted that if there is a spike in the number of cases, states and UTs should consider taking immediate and proactive action at the local level, as the Ministry of Health advises from time to time.