'One worry less': BMC decides to stamp people in 'home quarantine' amid COVID-19 outbreak

In an unprecedented move, The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to ''stamp'' all those people who have been sent to ''home quarantine'' in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, Maharashtra's Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare, Rajesh Tope had said that people who have undergone 100 per cent home quarantine, should be marked with instruction on their left hand with indelible ink.

"Those who have undergone 100 per cent home quarantine, should be marked with instruction on their left hand with indelible ink, so that that this person can be identified in the community," Tope said

Accordingly, the left hand of all persons shunted to 100 per cent home quarantine will be stamped to identify them easily if they mingle with the general public. Rajesh Tope said that on the lines of the indelible ink applied to voters during elections, a stamp will be imprinted on the left hand indicating "that person/patient is under compulsory home quarantine" till March 31.

Taking to Twitter, BMC also mandated the same and stated that the 'Badge of Honour' will be a constant reminder for 14 days.

As per sources, the decision, taken at a meeting of top officials chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, has been described as a precautionary measure. So far, 39 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Maharashtra, making it the state with the most number of infected cases. 

READ: Karnataka records two more confirmed cases of Coronavirus, both quarantined

BMC Chief Advocates 'Work-From-Home' to Mumbai companies

BMC Chief Praveen Pardeshi on Sunday took to social media and issued a warning to all companies to initiate ''work-from-home'' wherever possible. "We highly advise companies to initiate work-from-home policies. If necessary, we will make this mandatory in the days to come," Pardeshi said in an interview with social media platform 'Humans of Bombay'.

"I’m the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai & I want to use this opportunity to talk about the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra,” read a post from Humans of Bombay on its Facebook and Instagram page. “All measures under the Epidemic Act are in effect. A lockdown has been initiated by the closure of schools, colleges, theatres, malls, pools & gyms,” Pardeshi said.

READ: Section 144 imposed in Nagpur due to Coronavirus as Maharashtra cases rise

Coronavirus Crisis

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to around 114, including 17 foreign nationals. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. Along with it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15.

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 148 countries in the world. Presently, there are over 168,019 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 6,610 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus.

READ: Coronavirus: People consume cow urine in Kolkata

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