Kerala govt revises guidelines for international travellers, alters COVID testing and quarantine rules
The guidelines also stated that it is advisable for international travellers to remain in home quarantine for seven days and monitor their health.
FollowThe Kerala government in its modified guidelines on Saturday announced all international travellers coming to Kerala will be required to undergo symptom surveillance. The guidelines stated that all international travellers coming to Kerala will undergo symptom surveillance once they arrive irrespective of duration of stay in the state. If any traveller is found to be symptomatic, they will be required to take an RT-PCR test.
The guidelines were issued based on the recommendations of an expert panel, said State Health Minister Veena George in a press release. “Random testing of two per cent of international travellers by flight irrespective of the country of departure to be done free of cost (state government to bear the cost) and the selection of the passengers is to be done by the airline officers,” the guidelines said.
The Minister said in order to mitigate the third wave of the pandemic, the State Health Department strengthened the eSanjeevani system, a portal, to deliver healthcare service to people on a tele-medicine platform. The eSanjeevani has now more doctors, she said.
“In the COVID OP which has been functioning round the clock, there will be 15 to 20 doctors during the day and four doctors at night. The normal waiting period is one minute and if it increases, more doctors will be added to the system,” the Minister said in the release. Last month, over 18,000 people used the service of the portal and there was an 800 per cent increase when compared with previous months, she said.
The guidelines also stated that it is advisable for international travellers to remain in home quarantine for seven days and monitor their health. In case they develop any COVID-19 symptoms, the guideline states that they need to undergo a COVID-19 test. Further, the travellers need to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour during their stay and are also advised to “avoid attending congregation, closed space gatherings and other crowded places”.
