GTA issues Covid-19 rules for tea gardens ...Most tea gardens did not have qualified medical officers at hospitals and it was unlikely that doctors could be posted now

Vivek Chhetri, TT, 23.03.2020, Darjeeling: The GTA has issued stringent guidelines for tea garden managements in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

GTA chief Anit Thapa directed the chief medical health officers of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts to ensure that the managements submitted lists of tea garden dwellers who had gone abroad or to other states by Thursday.

“The garden managements are to keep a close watch on the returnee migrants( students/workers/travellers from their tea garden) and inform the BMOH/SDMO of the respective block/sub-division preferably within 24 hours of arrival in the garden,” said Thapa.

Tea garden hospitals and dispensaries without qualified medical officers and paramedical staff have been directed to ensure the presence of such staff as mandated by the plantation act and rules.

Sources said most tea gardens did not have qualified medical officers at hospitals and it was unlikely that doctors could be posted now.

“Temporary quarantine, treatment, ambulance services for symptomatic returnee migrants or symptomatic residents of tea garden, irrespective of whether the concerned is a worker or not a worker, shall be provided by the tea management in this situation of public health emergency,” said Thapa.

Other directives issued to the tea garden include

⚫Hand wash should be provided to all workers and staff at creches, factory, weighing sites, plucking and pruning areas etc.

⚫Hospital staff to be apprised of action to be taken to any person showing symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI)

⚫Management of persons with ARI but with no history of travel or contact with Covid-19 case to be initially done in garden dispensary/hospital or nearest health sub-centre

⚫Specific procedures to be adopted with persons with ARI returning from Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka or Rajasthan.

⚫Proper display of awareness material in tea gardens.