Covid-19: Tamil Nadu mandates 7-day quarantine for travellers from Kerala, Maharashtra

With the number of people testing positive showing an increase in Kerala and Maharashtra, the Tamil Nadu government has made it mandatory for those coming from the two states to undergo 7-day home quarantine and self-monitoring for another 7 days.

Releasing fresh guidelines for monitoring of Covid-19 cases, the Health Department asked people coming from other states to monitor their health for 14 days and report to a hospital if they develop symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus infection.

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The government has also made testing at airports compulsory for travellers arriving from countries like Britain, South Africa, and Brazil. They will be allowed to exit the airport premises only after a negative test. In case they test positive, the passengers will immediately be taken to a hospital for treatment.

Those testing negative, the guidelines said, will have to undergo another Covid-19 test after seven days. “If tested negative, they will be released from quarantine and asked to monitor their health for a further seven days,” the guidelines said.

Asking people returning from other states to self-monitor their health for 14 days, the guidelines said those coming from Kerala and Maharashtra should quarantine themselves at home for seven days and self-monitor their health for another seven days. It said testing will be done on all symptomatic individuals.

“If they test positive and are symptomatic, they will be taken to hospital isolation. If they are positive and asymptomatic, they will be taken to the Covid Care Centre for management,” the guidelines said.

The government also said it has categorised patients into three groups – mild cases, mild, moderate cases, and severe cases and high-risk cases.