More on Covid-19

NEW DELHI: Dismissing fears of legal action against manufacturing facilities, including imprisonment of the CEO or temporarily sealing of the factory if an employee tests positive for Covid-19 on the premises during lockdown , the Centre on Thursday clarified that there is no such clause in the consolidated revised guidelines of April 15 and such apprehensions are ‘misplaced’.In a letter to all states/Union territories, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla has requested them to apprise industrial field establishments of the lockdown guidelines and not misuse them to harass the management of manufacturing/ commercial establishments.“Some apprehensions, based on wrong interpretation of the guidelines, have been raised in the media and by some companies having manufacturing facilities,” Bhalla said.He elaborated that the fears included legal action such as imprisonment of CEO and sealing of facility for three months if any employee is found Covid-19-positive, or sealing of factory for two days if precautionary measures not taken.“I would like to clarify that there is no such clause in the consolidated revised guidelines and therefore there is no basis for such misplaced apprehensions,” the home secretary said.“Covid-19 being a highly infectious epidemic, it is important that all workplaces take measures to ensure social distancing and follow standard health protocols as notified by the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW). Accordingly, appropriate safeguards at workplace have been prescribed in the national directives and SOPs.... The workplaces and industrial and commercial establishments are required to follow these guidelines,” said Bhalla.The letter also clarified that the activities allowed under the consolidated revised guidelines of April 15 have subsumed all activi-ties that were permitted under the March 24 guidelines (and as modified further), except in containment zones.“Hence, it is clarified that the consolidated revised guidelines of April 15 do not curtail the exemptions already provided earlier, unless the exempted activity falls within a containment zone,” Bhalla said. It was also underlined that subject to compliance with the SOPs on social distancing, no fresh licence or statutory approval is required for resumption of permitted activities during the lockdown period.