Two years after India imposed a nationwide lockdown in view of the Covid-19 outbreak and followed it up with monthly review of health protocols, the NDMA has decided against invoking provisions of the Disaster Management Act beyond March 31 for management of the pandemic.
The shift comes in view of the steep decline in cases across India in the past few weeks and significant capacity-building at the state and Union Territory-levels for dealing with all aspects of Covid containment and control. The decision to do away with a national action plan and Covid restrictions, however, does not dispense with the need to continue observing safety protocols, such as wearing of masks and hand hygiene, as well as adherence to other guidelines issued by the health ministry from time to time.
Home secretary Ajay Bhalla, in a letter sent to states and Union territories, informed them of the NDMA’s decision to discontinue the issue of orders and guidelines under the DM Act. “Over the last 24 months, significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of management of the pandemic, such as diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment and vaccination, hospital infrastructure and the general public has a much higher level of awareness on Covid-appropriate behaviour. States and UTs have also developed their own capacities and systems and implemented their detailed state/UT specific plans for managing the pandemic,” Bhalla elaborated. He added there was a steep decline in the number of Covid cases, which now stand at 23,913, and daily positivity too has declined to 0.28%. Also, a total of 1.82 billion vaccines have been administered so far across the country.
“After taking into consideration the overall improvement in the situation and preparedness of the government to deal with the pandemic, NDMA has decided that there may not be any further need to invoke the provisions of the DM Act for Covid containment measures. Accordingly... no further order may be issued by the ministry of home affairs (after the validity of the current order expires on March 31, 2022),” the home secretary said while emphasising that the ministry’s advisories on containment measures, including on the use of mask and hygiene, will continue to guide the overall national response to the pandemic.
