The Ministry of Home Affairs in respect to the order dated 15.04.2020 vide consolidated revised guidelines on the measures to be taken by the Ministries/Department of Government of India, State/UT Authorities for containment of COVID-19, has issued a letter clarifying certain that apprehensions have been made in general based upon wrong interpretations of the guidelines by media and some companies. These are as follows:
- States may take legal action, including imprisonment of CEO, in case a COVID-19 positive employee is found in the factory.
- In such a situation, the premises of the factory would be sealed for 3 months.
- In case of non-compliance of precautionary measures, the factory may be closed down for two days and may be allowed to restart after full compliance.
The Ministry clarifies that there is no such clause in the consolidated revised guidelines and therefore the abovementioned apprehensions have no basis. It emphasizes that COVID-19 is highly contagious, and all workplace should ensure that safety measures and protocols are complied. Further, certain new activities are been exempted under guidelines dated 15.04.2020 to function except in containment zones. The industries already permitted to operate prior 15.04.2020 in areas outside the containment zone do not require to seek separate/fresh permission.
Order:DO Lr. Dt. 23.4.2020 to Chief Secretaries with clarification on misplaced apprehensions of Industry.
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