COVID-19: A mammoth quarantine challenge rolls in for Bengaluru

Municipal officials will have a task on their hands as nearly 50,000 passengers from across the country are expected to arrive in Bengaluru over the next few days in special trains, complicating COVID-19 containment efforts.

The government stares at a mammoth challenge: how and where to quarantine these arrivals as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent the outbreak from getting worse in the city and across the state.

With time running out, there seemed to be some confusion within the government on the issue of passenger numbers and the places where they will undergo quarantine.

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The first group of over 1,200 people is set to arrive on a Rajdhani train in Bengaluru on Thursday. All the asymptomatic arrivals will be placed under mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Suresh Kumar said the state had secured the use of several structures to accommodate the arrivals. “These are hostels, schools and other buildings,” the minister said.

However, a senior government official said the situation was still in flux, primarily because there was no clarity on the number of people who have registered to come to the city.

“There is no clarity on the numbers. How to plan then? We have been given a range of 25,000 to 50,000 people,” the top official said.

But the official also added that beds will be available in government facilities such as schools, university hostels, convention centres and wedding halls. “We are considering private establishments as a backup,” the official said.

However, B H Anil Kumar, Commissioner, BBMP, said the primary first-use facilities will be hotels. “We have identified 16,000 hotel beds. These range from five-star to budget and will be priced in slabs. Government hostels are available if the numbers swell,” the commissioner said.

“Not all the trains will be arriving at the same time. They are being staggered,” he added.

D Roopa, IGP, Railways, said officials were also considering placing some new arrivals in home quarantine. “Most of those coming to the city will have family in the city. We are considering stamping them, followed by a regimen of 14-day home quarantine,” she said.

“One clear message is that people should only consider coming here only if they absolutely have to. They must think of the risk they pose to their own families,” she added.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 12

Dicey situation

Since the relaxation of restrictions, the state has seen an abrupt doubling of cases, with 100 out of 311 reported cases since May 4 involving people who tested positive after arriving in Karnataka.

A public health expert pointed out that several erstwhile “green” districts such as Hassan, Yadgir and Chitradurga had turned into red zones due to the arrival of these returnees.

However, Dr M K Sudrashan, a senior member of the State’s COVID-19 Task Force, said we may have to live with the reality of a high number of cases. “We have to come out of the fear of the virus. An increasing number of cases should not be a cause for anxiety, as long as we prevent deaths,” he said.

He added that the state had made a decision to ignore the MHA’s guidelines to release all mildly symptomatic COVID-19 cases into home quarantine. “We have a large number of beds in the state, and we will continue to treat every COVID-19 case in hospitals,” he said.