BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has mandated seven-day institutional quarantine for people coming from Kerala, including students and employees. They will have to undergo an RT-PCR test on the eighth day, Revenue Minister R Ashoka announced on Monday.
Briefing reporters after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chaired a meeting with experts and ministers to review the Covid-19 situation, Ashoka said cases are increasing in Kerala every day, sometimes exceeding 30,000 cases per day, and the positivity rate is over 19 per cent. Institutional quarantine is not applicable to tourists or those who come on a short visit. They will have to furnish an RT-PCR negative certificate. The rule is applicable from Tuesday.
Tushar Girinath, Principal Secretary, Revenue Department (disaster management), said institutional quarantine is applicable to students and employees, as they work in offices or study in institutions, raising the risk of spreading the infection. It is the responsibility of the employer or college management to provide quarantine facility and food for seven days, and if they test positive, they should be allowed to stay in the quarantine centre, Girinath added.
As many people commute to Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts from Kerala, weekend curfew as well as night curfew will continue in those districts. These steps are being taken as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the state, he added.