Anyone coming into Jharkhand will from now on have to register themselves on the state government’s portal and stay in home quarantine for 14 days, according to new guidelines issued by the state government on Friday to try and stall the rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.

The guidelines, meant for visitors as well as residents who are returning to Jharkhand, will come into effect from Monday, July 20, according to SOPs notified by the state home, prison and disaster management department and signed by chief secretary Sukhdev Singh.

Sources said the latest SOPs are in addition to the guidelines issued earlier by the Union government for interstate/domestic travel and were aimed at enhancing better contact tracing and coordination between states amid the steady rise in Covid cases.

Irrespective of the mode of travel, air, rail or road, it is now mandatory for individuals reaching the state to register personal details on the state government portal (www.jharkhandtravel.nic.in) either before arrival/departure or within a day of doing so. They will have to stay in home quarantine for 14 days.

“The district administration shall take necessary measures to ensure compliance of these directions and all instructions issued from time to time,” read the order, adding that anyone disobeying the SOPs would be liable under Disaster Management Act, 2005, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The order makes it clear that if anyone violates home quarantine norms, or is unable to take appropriate quarantine measures at home, the district administration can put him/her under institutionalised quarantine or in paid quarantine centres.

District magistrates are, however, empowered to provide exemptions in exceptional cases. “Exemption can be granted only if a person is not a resident of Jharkhand and is fully asymptomatic and had come to the state only for business/official purpose and was travelling back to his/her state within a reasonable time frame,” read the order.

Singh, however, said these guidelines won’t be applicable for drivers/helpers of commercial vehicles involved in transporting cargo or airline personnel, or for those who are transiting and on-duty staff belonging to the government or its undertakings.

The state health department, on the other hand, has also re-issued separate protocols for contact tracing, containment zones, treatment methods and home isolation to all deputy commissioners.

Earlier this week, Ranchi district administration became the only district in the state to allow asymptomatic Covid positive individuals the option of home isolation with specified dos and don’ts. That was in the wake of an impending crisis of beds at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the wake of a spike in the number of cases.

However, the state health department in its general advisory has asked districts to ordinarily discourage home isolation of asymptomatic patients, except on a case to case basis provided all the set clauses are fulfilled.