Kerala to insist on 14-day quarantine for all from red-zones in other states

With many Keralites from red zones in other states already entering Kerala without being quarantined, Kerala government is on a drive to trace all such persons and keep them on quarantine.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that of the 16385, who entered Kerala from other states over the last few days, 8912 were found to be from red zones in other districts. Already 3,216 of them were traced and were quarantined. All those who enter Kerala from red zones in other districts will have to remain in institutional quarantine for 14 days. Aged persons, pregnant women and children need to remain on home quarantine only. Of the 86,679 Keralites from other states registered for entry passes, 37,801 were from red zones.

So far only those found to be having any sort of symptoms during screening at the border check points were put on quarantine. This led to a scare about asymptomatic coronavirus carriers entering the state, especially from red zones in other states. Hence, it was decided to insist on 14 days quarantine for those coming from other states. All persons aged above 75, children and pregnant women coming from other states will also have to remain in 14 days home quarantine.

The Chief Minister said that issuing of entry passes would be regularised to avoid crowding at checkposts.

Meanwhile, Kerala government is making attempts to operate special trains for bringing Malayali students stranded in various places, including Bengaluru. Already a request was made by the state to operate a special train from Delhi for students stranded in Delhi and nearby states.