DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Sunday amended a law to impose Rs 5000 fine and six months imprisonment for flouting safety norms related to COVID-19 epidemic.
Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the government said, "The amendment is to strengthen the law to prevent spread of COVID-19. The law will make people aware and penalize those who refuse to abide by it. It is for their safety only."
The Governor of Uttarakhand on Saturday gave assent to the Uttarakhand Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. Uttarakhand has become third state after Kerela and Odisha to amend the law.
Officials from the state government said that the amendment was made in sections 2 and 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act after which the norms related to wearing face masks, maintaining social distance or quarantine would now be implemented in a more strict manner.
Till date, total 1816 positive cases have emerged and 24 deaths have been recorded due to the contagion. Uttarakhand police has registered total 3891 cases for flouting safety norms and made 35,885 arrests. Fine have also been imposed to 67130 vehicles for not following the safety norms and overloading.
Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has already directed officials to audit every death related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the state and analyse the reasons behind them.