PUNJAB CM REVIEWS PREPARADENESS WITH DCs & SSPs FOR CONTAINMENT OF COVID-19

Chandigarh, March 20

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday asked the State Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and SSPs to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for the containment of COVID-19. Reviewing the state’s preparedness to combat Covid-19 during a video conference with DCs and SSPs through Video Conferencing, the Chief Minister directed them not to be complacent on this count and work round the clock with utmost dedication and commitment.

The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to issue detailed guidelines to the DCs to ensure strict vigil of persons in home quarantine to prevent further spread of the disease. He also asked the DCs to personally check hospital preparedness as well as quarantine facilities and isolation wards, especially from the hygiene and cleanliness angle. He asked them to instruct the Civil Surgeons to ensure abundant stock of masks and PPE-Kits.

Ongoing multi-media campaigns should be intensified to further educate the people about the preventive measures and possible care in this regard, said the Chief Minister. Capt Amarinder also appreciated the training sessions that had been held for educational institutions, govt. employees, police personnel and all workers on duty for this cause. He also lauded the stupendous work done so far by the entire health staff and further asked them to continue their endeavour till the battle against Covid-19 ends successfully. Terming it as a long-drawn battle, the Chief Minister emphasized the need to create the right structure and mechanism in place for the containment of Covid-19 in a holistic manner.

The Chief Minister also underlined the need for tracing protocols in terms of covering all passengers from the flight manifests that have entered the state in the last one month to ensure that not even one suspect escapes the dragnet. He also appealed to the people to report about persons in their neighbourhood who have returned from abroad during the last two weeks as part of neighbourhood surveillance. Th

e Chief Minister also reiterated his government’s advisory to the people to avoid visiting congested and crowded places. He also asked the DCs to ensure that people should venture out only if it was absolutely essential in case of procuring rations/groceries and medicine and health emergencies. People should be advised not to visit doctors for routine checkups and, similarly, persons above 65-years and children below 10-years should also not go out at all.

The Chief Minister also asked DCs to flag all their emergent requirements to the Crisis Management Group (CMG) headed by the Chief Secretary, which meets twice daily at 11 am and 5 pm.

The Chief Minister also asked the DCs to ensure strict enforcement of quarantine and in case of any violation, cases u/s 188 IPC must be registered against violators. At the same time, he also asked both the district civil and police administration to instil public confidence in dispelling the apprehension regarding panic buying. He also directed the district authorities to complete door-to-door survey at the earliest.

Prominent amongst others who attended the conference included Health & Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, ACS Invest Punjab Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary Health Anurag Aggarwal, Principal Secretary General Administration Alok Sekhhar, DGP Dinkar Gupta and ADGP Law & Order Ishwar Chander.