Himachal Pradesh’s social distancing lessons for returnees

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh government will launch a new programme, ‘Nigah’, to sensitise and educate families of people coming from other states to effectively maintain social distancing.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said since thousands of people of Himachal Pradesh are stranded in various parts of the country, it has become necessary that any person reaching home was properly checked medically and the case history is recorded.
He said a team of ASHA, health and anganwadi workers would visit the family members of persons arriving from other states to sensitize and educate them regarding importance of social distancing so that they could be saved from any possible infection.
Presiding over a meeting via video conferencing with deputy commissioners, superintending of police and chief medical officers on Tuesday, Thakur said houses of such persons who have come from other state must be properly marked.
He said representatives of panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies must ensure that such persons do not jump home quarantine. He said that they should also motivate family members to ensure that person maintains social distancing even within the family.
He said passes must be issued in a staggered manner to the persons who intend to come back to their native place from other states, so that unnecessary crowding at entry points could be averted.