High level Group of Ministers reviews current status of COVID-19

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The 8th high-level meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was held at Nirman Bhawan on March 19, 2020,  and chaired by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister.

Hardeep S. Puri, Civil Aviation Minister, D. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, Nityananda Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs,  Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Mansukh L Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping, Chemicals & Fertilizers, were present along with Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

The Group of Ministers (GOM) had detailed deliberation on prevention and management of COVID-19 in the country. In continuation of ongoing steps taken in this direction, the Committee of Secretaries chaired by Cabinet Secretary, at its meeting today, analysed the current situation and gave its recommendation to the Group of Ministers (GoM).

The Group of Ministers reviewed the status of cases in India and the steps taken by the Government of India, so far. In addition to the travel restrictions and advisories already in place, GoM has decided that no scheduled international commercial passenger aircraft shall take off from any foreign airport for any airport in India, after 0001 hrs GMT of March 22, 2020 ( 05.31 hrs Indian Standard Time (IST) of March 22, 2020). These instructions shall remain in force till 0001 hrs GMT of March 29, 2020.

The Government of India had on March 16, 2020, issued a detailed advisory on social distancing measures as a non-pharmaceutical intervention. Social distancing primarily implies avoiding/decreasing contact so as to stop or slow down the rate and extent of disease transmission. This has been found to be a useful approach to decrease the morbidity and mortality due to the disease. The  Government has regularly been urging Indian nationals on hand and respiratory hygiene, environmental sanitation measures like routine cleaning of frequently used surfaces, minimising the sharing of objects; and ensuring appropriate ventilation besides social distancing.

Fifty per cent of Group B and C employees are required to attend office every day, and the remaining 50 per cent staff should be instructed to work from home.Weekly roster of duty should be drafted for Group B and C staff and they are to attend office on alternate weeks.Working hours for all employees who attend office on a particular day would be staggered.

All educational institutions, theatres, museums, gyms, exam centers, etc., shall be closed temporarily.States shall take necessary actions to ensure that all sporting events, competitions and religious gatherings are postponed. With respect to public transport, it is directed that metros, railways, buses and airplanes shall consider decrease in frequency of their services, alternate seating to ensure social distancing.  Effective disinfection and crowd management be ensured at places like railway stations, metro stations, bus stands, and airports, according to a PIB release.

Ministry of Pharma and Consumer Affairs will take necessary action against anyone charging exorbitant price for masks, sanitisers, and other health related logistic material and to facilitate their availability at all hospitals and to people at large.