The Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department vide its notification dated 15th March, 2020, has published the Tamil Nadu COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 which details the responsibilities for hospitals and individuals and the powers of officials in relation to diagnosis, treatment and containment of COVID-19.
The regulation directs every hospital, including private hospitals, to mandatory inform all suspected cases of COVID-19 to the city health officer in Chennai district and to the Deputy Director of Health Services in case of rest of the districts and to maintain rooms or wards exclusively to examine and screen a person suspected of COVID-19. The travel history and contacts of the person shall be collected.
It also empowers district collectors to even seal a geographical area like a ward, village, town or city, if cases of COVID-19 are reported from that particular area.
This includes barring entry and exit of people from the sealed area. The order was passed by invoking powers from the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. The order also bans any private laboratory from taking or testing samples of COVID – 19.
Click here to read the Notification.
