GUWAHATI: Government of Assam’s Health and Family Welfare Department has issued Standard Operating Procedures for return of residents stranded across the country, back to Assam, by train.
Post Ministry of Railways’ announcement of partial resumption of train services from 12th May in a graded manner, state police authorities have been directed to categorize passengers by destination railway station and provide the list comprising passenger details to National Health Mission, Assam.
On receipt of the list, passengers will be contacted by 104 service providers of NHM and further details about their residential addresses will be generated. Passengers will be asked to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices and submit forms of undertaking as ordered by the central government.
District-wise lists will be sent to Deputy Commissioners to ensure smooth planning in advance. Transportation arrangements too have been directed to be made for those returning home from all de-boarding stations.
Deputy Commissioners have also been asked to make temporary lounges outside station buildings with special spaces earmarked for symptomatic passengers. Refreshments, toilets and other basic amenities will be provided to passengers in lounge areas.
Medical teams will be deployed for screening passengers and will also be made to go under isolated institutional quarantining if the need arises.
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As an exception, pregnant women, senior citizens above the age of 75, children below the age of 10, physically handicapped and persons attending funerals or participating in last rites of deceased persons will be allowed to home quarantine themselves if found asymptomatic.
All other asymptomatic passengers will be guided to lounge areas and will then be handed over to representatives of destination districts for onward journey and then to institutional quarantine facilities, arranged by the district administration. Those kept in institutional quarantine will then be tested at the earliest, positively within the first week of arrival and then will be allowed to be quarantined at home after being stamped. Total quarantine period including both institutional and home quarantine would not be less than 14 days.
Each passenger will be accommodated in a single room with attached toilet; couples and families may be accommodated in the same room. Room rental charges of the institutional quarantine facilities will be assessed by DCs and borne by the government. On exhaustion of hotels and lodges, quarantine facilities will be set up in various institutions like marriage halls, prominent educational institutes or other establishments where single toilets can be provided to one individual or to a group who have travelled together.
Food provided to all passengers under institutional quarantine facility across the district will be similar as per norms issued.
Medical teams will conduct periodic checks in the quarantine facilities to detect infection, if any, and a separate clinical guideline will be issued for swab collection, management of symptomatic cases and release from institutional quarantine.
Home quarantine of passengers will imply that the entire residence is a containment zone during the quarantine period. No person will be allowed to enter or exit the zone during that period. Village Level Home Quarantine Management Committees will decide in case of each passenger recommended for home quarantine whether the person will be quarantined in his/her residence or the local community centre, keeping in mind that in case the person stays at his residence, the same will become a containment zone for all residents of that house.
If required, the district administration will also mobilize volunteers from organizations like NCC, NSS, NYK and other social organizations and utilize their services for community involvement in the entire exercise.