Hours after Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Friday issued a statement about the State government notifying COVID-19 as an ‘’epidemic disease’’, an official spokesperson of Chief Minsiter’s office stated the virus had not been declared an epidemic.
Admitting that the press release issued by the Health department on the issue had inadvertently described COVID-2019 as an epidemic disease, the official spokesperson said later that there was absolutely no ‘epidemic’ of the disease in the state.
The health department had issued an advisory under the said Act only as a `temporary regulation’ to combat the threat of COVID-19, said the spokesperson, adding that there was no cause for panic at present and the situation was totally under control.
The health department had merely issued a precautionary advisory under The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, which provides for special measures to prevent outbreak or spread of any dangerous epidemic disease.
“As of now, samples of two of the three persons who came from Italy to Hoshiarpur had been admitted in GMCH Amritsar after they tested positive in preliminary report of AIIMS, Delhi. The final reports were awaited from NIV, Pune, where the samples had been sent,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson made it clear that while the advisory notification, listing the preventive and precautionary measures, was issued in line with the decisions taken by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to ensure that the disease does not spread in the state, the government had not taken any decision to declare the disease an epidemic.
Notably, earlier in the day, the Health Minister had said that the State government has notified COVID-19 as an epidemic disease.
Mr. Sidhu also said: “Till date, 71,900 patients had been screened across the State, of these, 48,867 passengers at Amritsar Airport, 5,116 passengers at International Airport of Mohali, 5,401 passengers at Wagah-Attari Border check post and 12,516 passengers had been screened at Dera Baba Nanak check post.”
