Following the return of respiratory distress, the central government issued health guidelines. The center categorized children, pregnant women, and the elderly as high-risk due to air pollution and ordered the establishment of chest clinics in every government hospital in polluted areas. Directing states to take immediate action, the Union Health Ministry issued a 33-page guideline to all states in North India.
In this, while alerting the health system, it has been said that cases of respiratory and heart diseases caused by pollution increase. Therefore, hospitals should be specially prepared. Union Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has said in a letter to the Chief Secretaries that the air quality is continuously deteriorating which has become a serious challenge for public health. We have to work together towards creating a healthy and clean environment. How to report patients affected by pollution in the chest clinic and how to manage their problems? For this, the Union Health Ministry has also shared a format in the guidelines, which is mandatory to be sent daily from the hospital to the district and then from there to Delhi.
The Center has ordered stricter measures at construction sites,
while also requiring students up to grade 5 to attend online classes at construction sites. The Center has mandated that dust control at these sites by spraying water, covering materials, and providing workers with kits and masks. Regular health checkups and training of construction workers are also mandatory.
Centre’s clear statement, strictness on GRAP is necessary in every district.
In the letter, the Union Secretary has asked the states to immediately activate their state and district task forces and increase coordination with the Environment, Transport, Urban Development, Women and Child Development and Labour departments. Also, strictly enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) already implemented in Delhi-NCR. The Ministry has said that air pollution not only causes respiratory diseases but also affects the heart, brain and nervous system.
What to do, what not to do: Avoid going out in the morning and late evening, running, strolling and doing physical exercises. Do not open the outer doors and windows in the morning and late evening.
