BENGALURU: All asymptomatic international passengers landing in Bengaluru will be shifted to hotels chosen by the government, and will have to pay for their stay. Three, four and five-star hotels have been marked, and passengers can choose where they wish to stay. This was decided at a high-level meeting of Smart City team members, comprising additional chief secretaries, BBMP, police and health officials, on Saturday to discuss the road ahead in tackling the Covid-19 crisis and how to ensure that cases do not multiply.
They also discussed how to deal with expats and migrants coming into Karnataka from other states, countries and districts. BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar told The New Sunday Express that rates of hotels have been slashed to Rs 1,000 - 4,000 per night. So far, those who had been quarantined in hotels were not paying for their stay. Symptomatic people will be immediately sent to hospitals for tests and treatment, he added.
Officials have estimated that around 6,500 international passengers are due to land in Bengaluru, besides 20,000 citizens coming in from other states. In all, the government has received 60,000 applications for passes. “Among these, those who are symptomatic will be sent to institutional quarantine and the asymptomatic will be home-quarantined. Notices will be stuck on their doors to make people aware, and a close watch will be kept on their health,” Kumar added. Those passing through Karnataka borders will be taken in a police convoy till the border of their town or city, to ensure that they do not sneak into cities in between. The police will have all details of these travellers.
RULES REVISED
The state government has come up with revised guidelines for quarantining primary contacts. Those who test negative will be home quarantined, instead of at institutions, as done earlier. They will be sent into institutional quarantine for 14 days if they don’t have a separate room with an attached toilet, and will be stamped on their hand.