No institutional quarantine for foreign returnees. No paid quarantine for poor

No institutional quarantine for foreign returnees. No paid quarantine for poor
People who arrived from abroad being directed by police officials. File photo: Manorama

Kerala government has revised quarantine norms for people returning from abroad and other states. Institutional quarantine, paid and government-sponsored, will be kept as the last resort. Otherwise, for both foreign and other-sate returnees, it will be room quarantine.

Till now, it was a mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine for foreign returnees. The centre had recommended 14-day institutional quarantine but Kerala had halved it to seven. From now on, the quarantine will be at home. Quarantine guidelines have been revised on the advice of the expert committee on health.

For other-state returnees, it was already home quarantine.

Paid quarantine

There will be institutional quarantine (IQ) only in two instances. One, if the returnee's home is not equipped to provide dedicated bath-attached rooms.

Two, even if the house is spacious enough, the returnee opts for IQ considering the safety of the elderly or the ill at home. In the second case, it will be paid quarantine.

“If it is sought, the government will arrange it,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his sunset briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The government will find a suitable hotel for the person to undergo her mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Guidelines for foreign returnees

No institutional quarantine for foreign returnees. No paid quarantine for poor
Quarantine norms for those who came from abroad have now been revised. File Photo: Manorama

Those coming from abroad will be sent home for quarantine after a preliminary screening if their homes have the necessary facilities. They can go home in her own vehicle or in a taxi.

The concerned local body, the police, the nodal officer of the COVID Care Centre and the district collector would be alerted about each foreign returnee directed to undergo quarantine at home. The police will ensure that the returnee has reached home at the prescribed time.

It is up to the local body to assess the quarantine fitness of the homes. If they are found inadequate, the returnee will have to be shifted to an institutional facility.

Family members will be properly trained on how to ensure effective quarantine. Quarantine violations will be dealt with strictly.

Guidelines for other-state returnees

No institutional quarantine for foreign returnees. No paid quarantine for poor
KSRTC buses were used to transport those coming from abroad to their respective districts. Photo: Manorama

As for other-state returnees, they will now have to intimate the authorities the home chosen for quarantine through an affidavit uploaded on the COVID-19 Jagrutha portal. Local body officials will inspect the home and make arrangements for safe quarantine.

The idea is to keep other-state returnees in homes as much as possible. If the house is found unfit, necessary changes would be made in the house or they could even be asked to find an optional home, say a relative's or friend's house.

The details of other-state returnees, too, would be promptly sent to the concerned local body, the police, the nodal officer of the COVID Care Centre and the district collector.

Designation of containment zones

There will be changes in the designation of containment zones, too. Containment zones (CZs)will be decided before midnight every day. In panchayats, CZs will be declared at the ward level and in corporations, at the sub-ward level.

A region will be declared a CZ if five conditions prevail.

One, an individual has been declared positive by way of contact in a ward. Two, if two people in quarantine in the area test positive. Three, if more than 10 primary contacts are under observation in the region. Four, if there are more than 25 secondary contacts in the area. Five, if chances of COVID-19 spread is detected in a ward, market, harbour, shopping mall, street or residential area.

The declaration will be valid for seven days, and any extension would be decided by the district collector.

A local body with more than 50 per cent CZs will be designated as 'red colour-coded local self-government'.

More than 80% returnees from other states

Till now, 2,19,492 Malayalis have returned to Kerala from both foreign countries and other states. Of this 38,871 (17.71 per cent) are from abroad and the rest, 1,80,621 (82.29 per cent), from other states. Among other-state returnees, 63.63 per cent have come from 'red zone' regions.

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