SHILLONG: The state government has issued another set of protocols for enforcing the three recommended health practices for prevention of COVID-19.
In its effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, the government has taken a proactive approach of declaring all its residents as Category ‘A’ cases by default unless they are tested on a continuous basis.
As per the health protocol issued by the Health &Family Welfare department on June 2, all residents are assumed to be by default asymptomatic persons who potentially have the ability to transmit the virus to others unknowingly.
The three recommended health practices to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus are wearing a mask, hand hygiene (washing hands frequently with soap and water or using a hand sanitiser) and maintaining physical distancing of about 6 feet in public spaces Meanwhile, the executive magistrates and police officers are authorised to impose a penalty of Rs 500 on first-time offenders who do not follow the recommended health practices.
The imposition of this fine is not to be seen as a punitive measure but as a means to effect a positive behavioral change among people to act responsibly in personal as well as public spaces.
Mask mantra
Masks should compulsorily be worn when people come out of their houses. A mask should compulsorily be worn if a person has cough or fever-even while inside the house.
All people above 2 years of age should wear a mask in public settings and when they are around people who do not live in their household, especially when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Wearing of masks is compulsory in places where there is mass gathering (eg., meetings, markets). Masks should be worn when in enclosed indoor settings openly accessible to public (eg., taxis, buses, grocery stores, malls, banquet halls, convention centres, stadiums, common areas in hotels, lobbies, offices et al). Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Use tissues and throw them away.
Breather
A person is travelling alone in a vehicle (he/she is the driver), can remove his/her mask inside the vehicle. However, if he/she stops to talk to someone along the way, or get out of the vehicle, it is mandatory for him/her to put the mask back on.
In case people from the same household or office travelling together in a vehicle and some of the members remove their masks inside the vehicle, even though they are in an enclosed space, they are not considered as violators of the rule because they know who their family members have been in contact with.
A shopkeeper sitting alone in shop and someone walking on an almost empty road may remove masks.
In case of workplaces, mask can be removed while sitting with known colleagues. However, wearing mask does not replace the need to maintain physical distancing and maintaining hand hygiene.