Visitors and attenders are prohibited from meeting patients admitted in isolation wards of COVID-19 dedicated hospitals, institutions and COVID-19 health centres to avoid the spread of infection.
Due to the rise in patient load and inadequate manpower to take care of patients, many hospitals were allowing relatives of patients inside the isolation wards, which was not the practice during the first wave of COVID-19.
T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has written to the Director of Medication Education (DME) pointing out that visitors/attenders are prohibited from meeting patients suffering from the notified disease of COVID-19 and admitted to isolation wards to avoid the spread, as per provisions of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act 1939.
He said that COVID-19 was declared as a notified disease under section 62 of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939. Regulations were prescribed to prevent the outbreak of the disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. He drew attention to Rule 71 (1) and (2) of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act in which exposure of other persons to the infection is prohibited.
He said that if attenders were essential in any case, they should follow all COVID-19 appropriate behaviour as directed by the head of department/health officials. However, information desks may be set up for updating the patient status to family and friends.
The Director requested the DME to ensure that the instructions were followed scrupulously at the institutions functioning under the directorate and to fix the responsibility on respective nodal officers of the institutions.
