More than 50% of the COVID-19 quarantine centres the Kerala government had identified for expatriates and those returning from other states have now closed down.
The centres had become empty after the government decided to do away with the mandatory institutional quarantine for the first seven days for those returning from abroad and other states.
The state allowed 14-day home quarantine for expats to help them save on the expense on institutional quarantine.
Now, only those who don’t have a separate room with attached toilet, guest workers, and those who cannot go to their homes are being kept in the institutional quarantine centres.
The centres are responsible for arranging the meals for their inmates.
Health Minister K K Shailaja had recently said that the quarantine centres had not been closed. Some of those under quarantine vacated hotels and resorts when they found homes with better facilities, she said.
Available figures, however, paint a different picture. They show that in most districts, more than half of the quarantine centres have been closed.
The status in different districts
Thiruvananthapuram: The district now has 72 quarantine centres that are operational with 2,117 rooms. There are 1,168 people in quarantine in these centres. Earlier, the state had identified 20,000 rooms, including those in hotels and lodges, for quarantine.
Kollam: More than 50% of quarantines centres stopped operations in a month. There were 357 centres initially; the number has now come down to 150.
Pathanamthitta: There are about 30 paid facilities. More than 50% of the 287 available rooms are empty.
Idukki: There were 76 centres initially; now there are only 27.
Ernakulam: Of the 22 state quarantine centres that were opened, five have stopped functioning. At present, there are 514 inmates in the functional centres. The district also has 89 paid centres. There are about 1,455 people in 41 hotels offering paid facilities.
Palakkad: Most state-run quarantine centres have been shut. Some centres that don’t charge rent are continuing to operate.
Malappuram: Eight centres opened by the local bodies have closed down. The district now has 197 centres with a capacity for 2,566 people.
Kozhikode: Of the 42 centres that were under the state’s control, 24 have shut. Also, about 80 centres under the local body have been closed.
Wayanad: About 50% of the 190 centres have been locked up.
Kannur: Only 40 of the 164 opened initially remain.
2.39 lakh beds available for expats
The state has identified quarantine centres with a capacity to accommodate 2,39,642 beds for expats, the government has claimed.
In a report on April 25, the state had said that it had 1,52,722 beds. Besides the rooms in hospitals and hotels, the state had also identified 47 stadiums that could be converted as quarantine centres, the government had said.
Compensation for quarantine facilities
The state government has ordered compensation for hotels, lodges, resorts and auditoriums that were used as quarantine facilities or rehabilitation centres for guest workers.
The compensation for private lodges and auditoriums will be decided by the public works and respective local departments, the government said.
The compensation amount for institutions that were used as quarantine centres will be calculated from March 17. The relief amount for centres used for the rehabilitation of guest workers will be calculated from March 17 to June 18.
