20 people shifted to institutional quarantine for defying rules

Twenty people, including five members of a family, were put under 28-days strict institutional quarantine for violating home quarantine Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) here, an official spokesperson said. District Magistrate Baseer ul Haq Choudhary has designated surveillance officers to monitor the daily surveillance of the residents, students as well as returnees from Iran and other countries who have been put under home quarantine as a preventive step to contain the spread of coronavirus in the district which was recently declared COVID-19 free. "During the course of the random checking, 20 persons were found violating the home quarantine SOPs who were later put into 28 days strict institutional quarantine at the quarantine facilities established by the district administration," the spokesperson said.

Officials have been instructed to randomly check homes under quarantine in their jurisdictions and submit the details of defaulters to the office of the district magistrate on a daily basis, he said. "People in quarantine have also been exhorted upon that besides strictly adhering to other necessary quarantine measures, social distancing, personal hygiene and hygiene of the surroundings should be given utmost priority to contain the spread of COVID-19," he said.