PUNJAB TO SEND UNVACCINATED STAFF ON LEAVE
CHANDIGARH: Punjab on Friday announced that government employees without even one Covid-19 jab for any non-medical reasons will be compulsorily sent on leave after September 15, becoming the latest in a handful of states to attempt a vaccine mandate. “Special efforts are taken to reach out to government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose,” chief minister Amarinder Singh said at a review meeting.
CHANDIGARH : Punjab on Friday announced that government employees without even one Covid-19 jab for any non-medical reasons will be compulsorily sent on leave after September 15, becoming the latest in a handful of states to attempt a mandatory vaccine mandate.
A government statement said chief minister Amarinder Singh took the “strong measure” to protect the people of the state and ensure that vaccinated people do not pay the price for continued vaccine hesitancy.
“Special efforts are taken to reach out to government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose,” the chief minister said at a a high-level virtual Covid review meeting.
Till Friday, Punjab had administered nearly 15.9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 12,039,477 were first shots and 3,826,637 were second. This translates to roughly 53% of the state’s adult population having received at least one shot of the vaccine, which puts Punjab among the bottom 10 of India’s states. For comparison, 59% of India has received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Singh also ordered the extension of existing Covid-19 restrictions till September 30, with a limit of 300 on all gatherings and strict enforcement of masks as well as social distancing.Earlier, the number of people allowed for indoor gatherings was 150 and outdoors was 300.
He also allowed teaching and non-teaching school staff with at least one dose more than four weeks ago to resume duties, subject to submission of weekly RT-PCR Covid-negative test reports.
However, people with co-morbidities will be allowed once they are fully vaccinated. Health minister Balbir Sidhu suggested the gap for the second dose to be reduced for school staff to 28 days.
However, chief secretary Vini Mahajan informed the meeting that the Centre had rejected the state’s request.
Citing the latest sero-survey, the chief minister said that for children between 6 and 17, the sero positivity was at 60%, and it was higher in the age bracket of 14-17. He also directed the health department to ensure that all staff at sweetshops, kiosks and dhabas was vaccinated with at least one dose.
Earlier this year, the governments of Manipur and Mizoram tried to enforce a mandatory vaccine regime.
In June, Mizoram said only vaccinated individuals should be engaged for manning shops and stores or undertaking any work, and only these people should be allowed to step out of houses.
In July, Manipur proposed to prioritise the opening of institutions, factories, shops and offices where employees were vaccinated. Mizoram
But both proposals were struck down by the high courts, which viewed these conditions as inimical to freedom of choice and expression, and said it would trample upon the freedom of the individual to get vaccinated or choose not to do so.