14-day home quarantine mandatory in Himachal
Shimla: With huge spike in the Covid cases, almost 7,500 in past five days, Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday imposed fresh restrictions –night curfew in four hotspot districts, entry only by Covid e-pass and 14-day home quarantine for those not coming with RT-PCR negative test report of 72 hours.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the restrictions were necessitated by massive spurt in the Covid cases and very high fatalities in the state.
On Tuesday, 24 more persons, including a 25-year-old male in Kinnaur districts lost their lives while a record 2,167 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours. Kangra district again had the highest 10 Covid deaths.
Total number of active cases in the state has risen to 15,151 while the total number of deaths rose to 1374 on Tuesday.
The new restrictions which will become applicable midnight include a mandatory e-registration for people coming to the state for which the checking will be done at all entry points.
"Every person coming to the state will have to register on covidepass.hp.gov.in,"said DC Shimla Aditya Negi adding that those persons going out for work or else will also be required to register themselves at this official portal.
As per notification issued by the state government, all returnees from the Coronavirus hotspots shall be treated as "high-risk contacts" and shall be subjected to the protocol of home quarantine for a period of 14 days. They will, however, have a choice to get tested on sixth or or seventh day after entry. The requirement of quarantine shall not be applicable to those who are returning from hotspots but have undergone a RT-PCR test, conducted not earlier than 72 hours before entering the state, the order said.
Those will not be quarantined who have been vaccinated and a period of minimum 14 days has lapsed since the second dose of vaccine, it said, adding that the person must possess the final vaccination certificate issued to him or her.
The requirement of quarantine will also not be applicable to those who travel to Himachal Pradesh from the hotspot areas for a short duration, not exceeding 72 hours, for medical, business or office purposes, it said.
All commercial vehicles carrying essential commodities would be exempted from the condition of registration. People, who work in industries in Punjab and commute daily, would be allowed to go after inquiry, said DC Solan K C Chaman.
Night curfew has been imposed in Solan, Una, Kangra, Shimla and Sirmaur.