Karnataka Covid-19 update: 7-day home quarantine mandatory for THESE people; Check new guidelines here

Bengaluru: Wary of possible entry of infected persons into the state, the Karnataka government has made 7-day home quarantine mandatory for travelers coming in from high-risk countries. Revised guidelines were issued by the government on Saturday which mandated home quarantine for seven days for people flying in from high-risk countries. The seven day period will begin from the time of their arrival.

Passengers coming from high-risk countries will also need a mandatory negative Covid status. Karnataka has also enhanced its surveillance efforts and curbs to check any spread. Authorities are tracking and quarantining the primary and secondary contacts of people infected with Covid-19. These high-risk countries include China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Thailand.

If a flyer tests positive, the treatment and management of infection is to be done as per the Covid protocol of the state, the Karnataka Health department circular said for international travellers. Each passenger will need to be verified as Covid-19 negative in the RT-PCR report before they are permitted to exit the airport.

The health department has asked the Airport authorities to provide necessary assistance needed to comply with the guidelines. Five health information officers (HIO) need to be deputed by the district health officers of Bengaluru Urban district, Bengaluru Rural and Kolar to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport beginning from January 1. This will be carried out on a rotational basis. 

“On arrival if any of the international passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand countries are found symptomatic, they shall be immediately isolated and transferred to the designated medical facility for clinical management,” the revised guidelines mentioned.

Asymptomatic passengers need to self-monitor their health for symptoms after leaving the airport and should comply with Covid-appropriate behaviour. They will need to strictly stay under home quarantine for the next seven days

“If the passengers develop symptoms like fever, cough, cold, body ache, headache, loss of taste and smell, diarrhoea and breathing difficulty, they shall immediately self-isolate and report to the local surveillance health team for testing,” it added.

“If tested positive, they shall be shifted to the designated medical facility (government or private) for isolation. Positive samples shall be sent for genome sequencing,” it said.

“If children below 12 years of age who are exempted from both pre-departure and post-arrival testing develop symptoms on arrival or during the period of self-monitoring and home quarantine for next seven days, they shall follow the same protocol as above for adults except that a parent or guardian in good health shall accompany them and be the care-giver to the child during the period of isolation and treatment as applicable,” the guidelines said.

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