In exercise of powers conferred under Section
2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (central Act 3 of 1897), the Governor of
Tamil Nadu hereby makes the following Regulations.-The Regulations These regulations may be called the Tamil
Nadu Covid -19 Regulations, 2020. (1)
"Authorized
person" means the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, the
Director of Medical and Rural Health Services, the Director of Medical
Education, Deputy Director of Health Services, Joint Director of Medical and
Rural Health Services, District Collectors or any other Medical Officer not
below the rank of Assistant Surgeon. (2)
"Collector"
means the District Collector or any other Officer authorized by the Government
to perform the functions of the District collector. (3)
"COVID-19"
means a Disease caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome
corona Virus 2 (SARS-COV-2). (4)
"Designated
laboratory" means any laboratory designated by the central or State
Government for the purpose of COVID-19. (5)
"District
Nodal Officer" means the Nodal Officer appointed for COVID-19 by the
Department of Health and Family Welfare in each district. (6)
"Hospital"
means a place where patients are admitted for medical treatment and includes a
Government Hospital. (1)
Every
hospital shall maintain rooms or wards exclusively to examine and screen
persons suspected of COVID-19. (2)
During
screening of such cases, shall record,- (i)
whether
the person has travelled to any country or area where COVID-19 has been
reported during the last 28 days; and (ii)
the
history of the person coming in contact with a suspected or conformed case
of Covid-19. (3)
In
case the person falling under sub regulation (2), the hospital shall,- (i)
if
the person is asymptomatic, he shall be advised to be in Home Quarantine for 14
days; or (ii)
if
the person is symptomatic as per case definition of COVID-19, then he shall be
isolated in the hospital as per the guidelines of the Government of India
issued from time to time in this behalf. (4)
Every
hospital shall collect samples for Covid-19 as per the guidelines of the
Government of India issued from time to time in this behalf and send them to
the Designated laboratory through the District Nodal Officer. (5)
Every
hospital shall immediately inform all suspected cases of Covid-19 to the city
Health Officer in the case of Chennai district and to the Deputy Director of
Health Services in the case of other districts. If any person falling under sub regulation
(2) of regulation 3 refuses to be isolated and admitted in a hospital, the
authorized officer shall forcefully admit and isolate him for a period of 14
days or till the report of the designated laboratory tests are received,
whichever is earlier. Thereafter, further treatment shall be given based on the
result of the Laboratory Test. If cases of COVID-19 are reported from a
defined geographic area such as village, town, city, ward, colony, settlement,
the collector shall have the right to implement following containment measures,
but not limited to these, in order to prevent spread of the disease namely:- (i)
sealing
of the geographical area. (ii)
barring
entry and exit of population from the containment area. (iii)
closure
of schools, offices or any establishment and banning public gatherings. (iv)
banning
vehicular movement in the area. (v)
initiating
active and passive surveillance of Covid-19 cases. (vi)
designating
any building as containment unit for isolation of the cases. (vii)
direct
staff of any Government department for discharging the duty of containment
measures. (viii)
any
other measure, as may be directed by the Department of Health and Family
Welfare. No private laboratory shall take or test
samples of COVID-19. (1)
Any
person with a history of travel in for a period not less than 28 days to a
country or area from where COVID -19, shall report himself to the nearest
Government Hospital or at any time, call toll-free helpline number 104 or
report to the control Room (044-29510500, 044-29510400, 9444340496, 8754448477)
at the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine or to the helpline
number of the district concerned, available at the website
www.tnhealth.tn.gov.in. (2)
Any
person with a history of travel to a country or area from where COVID -19 for a
period of not less than 28 days but does not have any symptom of cough, fever
or difficulty in breathing, shall isolate himself at home. Such a person shall
take precaution to avoid contact with any other person including family members
for a period of 14 days. No person or Institution or organization shall
use any print or electronic media for dissemination of any information
regarding COVID-19 without obtaining prior permission from the Director of
Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Director of Medical and Rural Health
Services, Director of Medical Education or collector.TAMIL
NADU COVID -19 REGULATIONS, 2020
PREAMBLE