Delhi authorities get power to seal areas over Covid-19

NEW DELHI: A day after Delhi government declared Covid-19 an epidemic, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Friday issued Delhi Epidemic Disease Covid-19 Regulations 2020 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the capital.

The regulations give officials the power to take “coercive action” against any person if he refuses to “cooperate” with the authorities. “Action will be taken against any suspect/confirmed case if they refuse to take measures for prevention/treatment,” it states.

The officials, with the approval of the state task force, can seal an area, ban entry and exit of people and vehicular movement, and order closure of schools, offices and ban public gatherings if a Covid-19 case is reported from a defined geographic area.


The regulations also make it mandatory for all hospitals to have a “flu corner” for screening suspected cases but bar private laboratories to collect samples for the disease.

Karnataka and Haryana have also notified regulations under Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. Covid-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has no cure at present. There is no vaccine either. The experts say isolating people who test positive, mostly those with travel history to affected country or people came in contact with them, is the only way to contain the disease spread.

The Epidemic Diseases Act also allows the authorities seal any area in the city and prohibit entry or exit traffic movement and to designate any government building as containment unit for isolation of the cases. The staff of all government departments will be at disposal of the district administration of the concerned area for discharging the duty of containment measures.

“If people don’t follow the rules for self-isolation or quarantine at hospitals depending on the symptoms, the disease can spread in the community. And then, it will be difficult to control the infection from spreading,” said an expert.