Covid-19: Concerns over lack of clarity on screening Maharashtra, Kerala passengers

According to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, there are an average of about 30 flights landing at the airport daily from Maharashtra

Concerns over a huge influx of business travellers flying in from Maharashtra to Karnataka daily prompted the state health authorities to amend their special surveillance measures on Monday.

However, there is a lack of clarity about travellers from Kerala, where the scale of the Covid-19 outbreak is arguably greater.

According to official information, while Maharashtra had a test positivity rate (TPR) of 1.3 per cent on Monday, Kerala’s TPR is a whopping 10.4 per cent.

As many as 693 new cases were recorded in Maharashtra on Monday and 5,404 in Kerala.

Also Read | Karnataka orders special Covid surveillance measures on arrivals from Mumbai

Officials said an advisory issued in September to curb spread of Covid-19 from Kerala travellers had lapsed at the end of October and no further instruction had come about for screening students and workers from Kerala.

“There is no clarity from the state or from the district authorities about the extension of the advisory,” an official in Dakshina Kannada district, which borders Kerala, noted.

Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that the new Maharashtra-aimed surveillance circular does not consider round-trip travelers (those from Karnataka travelling to Mumbai and returning).

“Essentially, this circular is aimed at business travellers,” explained T K Anil Kumar, principal secretary of the Health and Family Welfare department.

“There are a huge number of travellers who come from Mumbai and Pune every day to Karnataka, to offices of private companies here. Therefore, the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce (BCIC) suggested amending surveillance measures.”

According to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, there are an average of about 30 flights landing at the airport daily from Maharashtra.

The BCIC told DH that its suggestion was originally intended to cover travellers originating from both Karnataka and Maharashtra.

“It was meant to serve as a perk for our travellers. If arrivals comply with conditions in the addendum, such as not having symptoms, proffer a self-declaration that they have no symptoms, consent to a thermal scan, follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and have a return ticket, they are exempted from requiring a negative RT-PCR test report for their short stay,” said a representative of BCIC.

The principal secretary said that the order does not specifically cover people travelling from Karnataka to Maharashtra and back.

Border post problems

On the ground, meanwhile, there is no screening of travellers from Kerala, crossing into Karnataka from Tamil Nadu via border posts.

In Dakshina Kannada, officials said that in the absence of renewed guidelines, travellers from Kerala are only being screened randomly.

“No testing is happening at border posts,” said Dr Kishore Kumar, the district health officer (DHO), who added that testing is nevertheless happening at railway stations and airports for passengers from Kerala who lack a negative RT-PCR certificate.

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