The central government on Wednesday said it will allow people left stranded by the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown to return to their homes, asking states to follow certain rules. Migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and others will be allowed to register with their home states. The states will then discuss the evacuation and make arrangements including transport, quarantine and health checks.
Here are the six points which the government order said:
States will have to appoint a nodal authority and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending stranded people. The authorities will have to register the stranded people within their states.
States will have to consult each other and agree on sending or receiving the stranded people.
The people who want to return home will be screened and those found asymptomatic will be allowed to proceed.
Buses shall be used for transporting the people. The buses will be sanitized and shall follow physical distancing norms in seating.
The states and union territories on the transit route will allow the buses to pass.
On arriving at their destination, the people will be assessed by the local health authorities and kept in home quarantine, unless the assessment recommends institutional quarantine. They will be kept under watch with periodic health check-ups. For this, the use of the Aarogya Setu app will be encouraged.
