Case against those sharing info about COVID-19 patient on social media-Telangana govt

Hyderabad: Telangana government on Saturday released a fresh set of guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state. Under new guidelines, all government and private hospitals shall provide Covid-19 corners for the screening of suspected cases as and when required by authorities. The hospitals shall record the history of travel to any country or where Covid-19 has been reported.

Every person who has a history of travel to affected areas in the last 14 days and who is asymptomatic must remain in home quarantine for 14 days. Passengers with a travel history and symptoms as per the case definition of COVID-19 shall be required to isolate in a hospital as per the protocol.

Information on all such cases must be immediately sent to state-integrated disease surveillance units and collectors of the district, municipal commissioner, by the head or the person in the management of the hospital.

No person/institution shall use any print or electronic or social media for dissemination of any information regarding Covid-19. If found, will be treated as a punishable offense. The private health care institutions intending to test COVID-19 must notify the state IDSP unit. They shall arrange monitoring and testing strictly as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Delhi.

Any person with travel history in the last 14 days to country or area which is Covid-19 affected must voluntarily report to the state control room. Any person, institution, organization, violating any provision of these regulations shall be deemed to have committed an offense under section 188 of IPC. The officer may penalize any person, institution, the organization found violating provisions of these regulations or any further orders issued by the government under these regulations.