Chennai: The Tamilnadu government has initiated the process of making Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for people visiting public places.
A circular issued on Thursday by the Directorate of Public Health has made vaccination mandatory for people in public places.
In a move to make vaccination compulsory for the eligible population, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has invoked provisions under the Tamilnadu Public Health Act, 1939, to ensure that public places, including markets, theatres and factories, are occupied only by those vaccinated against Covid-19.
The DPH asked Deputy Directors of health services to inform owners and occupiers of such places to ensure all visitors had taken the vaccine. Public places include streets, markets, theatres, other places of entertainment or assembly, schools, colleges, playgrounds, hotels, boarding houses, rest houses, clubs, factories and shops.
‘The Public Health Act empowers the director of public health and preventive medicine to make vaccination and preventive inoculations compulsory,’ said DPH Dr TS Selvavinayagam.
Over the past few weeks, the uptake of vaccination, both among those yet to take the first dose and those due/overdue for the second, has slowed down in the State. The overall coverage of inoculation stands at 6,45,72,433.