The 22nd Law Commission of India has proposed significant amendments to the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, emphasizing modern epidemic management strategies in its recent 286th report.
Key Highlights of the report:
- The report recommends the creation of an Epidemic Plan and Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) to effectively address future epidemics.
- It calls for the removal of unclear power demarcation between Centre, state, and local authorities to prevent uncoordinated responses.
- Key amendments proposed: Incorporate quarantine, isolation, and lockdown provisions that respect fundamental rights, establishing privacy-friendly disease surveillance, and ensuring the regulation of medical supplies, information dissemination, research for vaccinations, and safe disposal of infectious waste.
- The SOP suggestion outlines a 3-stage approach for managing infectious diseases, including giving states the power to take measures in line with the Epidemic Plan, enabling the Central government to frame regulations during inter-state spread or pandemics, and imposing uniform measures in case of an extreme threat.
- The EDA, 1897 was designed initially to combat the bubonic plague in Mumbai.
- It empowers state governments to prevent and control epidemic diseases, with the Central government having the authority to inspect transportation
- The punishments prescribed in the Act ranges from 3 months to 7 years in prison and fines between Rs. 50,000-5 lakhs.
- The act has been previously invoked for diseases like swine flu, cholera, malaria, and dengue.
- It was notably used in 2020 to control COVID-19 spread, alongside the Disaster Management Act, with a 2020 amendment protecting healthcare workers from violence.
Ref: Source
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