The Karnataka government has brought some change in its earlier released standard operating procedure (SOP) with revised quarantine guidelines.
The earlier SOP stated that returnees from six states with high COVID-19 cases, that is Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, will be kept in institutional quarantine for seven days followed by 7 days of home quarantine while returnees from other low prevalence states would be asked to follow 14 days of home quarantine.
According to the latest information, the Karnataka government has tweaked quarantine requirements for people arriving only from Maharashtra, raising the mandatory isolation time from a fortnight to three weeks, an official said on June 3 (Wednesday).
“Returnees from Maharashtra will be sent to institutional quarantine for seven days, followed by 14 days strict home quarantine, total 21 days,” tweeted Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey.
Enhanced Protocol for inter-state travel to Karnataka during phased reopening / Unlock-1.
— PANKAJ KUMAR PANDEY, IAS (@iaspankajpandey) June 3, 2020
1.Returnees from MH will be sent to institutional quarantine for 7 days followed by 14 days strict Home quarantine (total 21 days). pic.twitter.com/FX4fLPiz2b
The 21-day quarantine protocol is for all asymptomatic people returning from Maharashtra, considering most of the coronavirus cases in Karnataka are having domestic travel history to that state. If any of these people kept in quarantine develop Covid symptoms during isolation, they will be subjected to a Covid test, said the orders.
Government provides exceptions to special category passengers
However, according to the Karnataka government, some of these asymptomatic individuals returning from Maharashtra have been provided some exceptions from the 21 days quarantine and designated as special category passengers.
The special category passengers include:
- people who suffered a death in the family
- pregnant women
- children below 10
- elderly people above 60
- individuals suffering from serious illnesses, and human distress
Exceptions for business travellers from Maharashtra
Similarly, the department has also made some provisions for business travellers from Maharashtra.
“To establish that one is a business visitor, (that) person should show confirmed return flight or train ticket which should not be more than seven days later from the date of arrival,” ordered Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar.
Similarly, if a business visitor is arriving on road, he should provide the address proof of the person in Karnataka he intends to meet. Additionally, they should also produce a coronavirus negative test certificate which is not more than two days old.
“If one does not have a COVID negative test certificate such a person should go for institutional quarantine for two days within which COVID test should be conducted at his own cost. After the test result is negative, that person is exempted from quarantine,” he said.
While amending orders for Maharashtra returness, the Karnataka government has kept mostly all conditions for visitors from other states unchanged.
Maharashtra: The worst affected state in the coronavirus pandemic
Maharashtra reported the highest single-day spike in coronavirus deaths on Wednesday with 122 fatalities, taking the total number of deaths in the state to 2,587. The total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 74,860.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases are drastically increasing in Karnataka, with the state touching the 4000-mark on Wednesday. On Wednesday, 267 cases were reported from across the state of Karnataka, thereby taking the total tally to 4,063. Out of these 267 new cases, 250 were returnees from other states especially Maharashtra.
