Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has made seven-day home quarantine mandatory for all those who arrive from foreign countries even as Omicron, the latest coronavirus strain, sweeps across the world.
The home quarantine norms will be tightened in accordance with the central guidelines, Health Minister Veena George said in a press release on Friday. On the eighth day, RT-PCR test will be conducted on individuals undergoing quarantine.
Kerala has so far reported 280 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, out of which 186 were from low-risk countries while 64 came from high-risk nations and 30 were contact cases.
RT-PCR tests will be conducted on passengers on the basis of their country of departure- high-risk and low-risk nations.
RT-PCR must for passengers from high-risk nations
An RT-PCR test is a must for all passengers from high-risk nations. Those who test negative will undergo a home quarantine for 7 days and get tested on the eighth day. If tested negative, the quarantine will continue for the next 7 days.
If tested positive, the individual will be moved into isolation and his/her sample will be sent for genetic sequencing.
The individual will be treated as per standard protocol and discharged according to the doctor's instruction.
Random sampling for low-risk nations
While the central guidelines instruct a random sampling of 2 per cent for passengers from low-risk countries, Kerala will collect the random sample of 20 per cent passengers from low-risk countries for RT-PCR tests.
Those who test negative will undergo a home quarantine for 7 days and get tested on the eighth day. If tested negative, they will undergo self-observation for the next 7 days. If positive, the individual will be moved into isolation and his/her sample will be sent for genetic sequencing.
The individual will be treated as per standard protocol and discharged according to the doctor's instructions.
If individuals exhibit symptoms during the quarantine or self-observation period, or test positive, they will be tested again for confirmation.
