The Epidemic Diseases Amendment Act, 2020- An explicative review

In situations of epidemics, public health laws play a crucial role in the control of infectious diseases. One such law in India is the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 which was introduced during the British Colonial Era to tackle the epidemic of bubonic plague that broke out in the then Bombay state at the time. Since the act was formulated more than a century ago, it had major limitations in meeting the need in this era of changing priorities in public health emergency management. It was realized that the act needed modifications to match new challenges. The Indian Parliament in 2020, on 28th September 2020, the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 received the assent of the President and it came into force on the 22nd day of April 2020. However, even after amendments the act lacks in various aspects. The present article discusses the need for further amendments to the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020.