THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Kerala government strengthened restrictions in place for travellers coming to the state from other parts of India and foreign countries following the second wave of COVID, only air travelers are following the guidelines per se, as there is no strict enforcement of protocols in road and rail routes across the state.
In the case of air passengers, all the international travelers are bound to follow the COVID protocol for their surveillance issued by the Union Government. The domestic travellers, irrespective of their vaccination status, should also carry an RT-PCR test negative result taken 48 hours prior to the journey or should take immediately after entering the state.
The latest travel advisory for the international traveller is that he/she should have a RT-PCR negative result taken 72 hours prior to the journey. They will have to go on home quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. If they are coming without an RT-PCR negative certificate, they will be subjected to a test at the airport. The travel advisory for international passengers are clearly being followed by the travellers as almost all the airlines companies made RT-PCR test results mandatory before boarding the flight. But in the domestic front, things are not so rosy.
Praveen N A, 26-year-old, who reached Trivandrum airport from Kolkata on Saturday, said he was not asked for RT-PCR negative test result by the airline or health authorities in Kolkata or Trivandrum. "When I reached Trivandrum by a connecting flight from Bangalore, the airport officials asked whether I have RT-PCR test result. As I said I don't have, they asked me to undergo the test once I reached home," he said.
But the scenario is entirely different in road and rail routes. As per the latest advisory of the Kerala Government, those who couldn’t undertake the RT-PCR test should remain in room isolation for
14 days from the date of entry and seek immediate medical attention if they develop any symptoms.
But the fact is that there is no proper system to check the status of passengers other than asking them to register with Covid Jagratha portal.
A rail passenger who reaches any of the stations inside the state can leave the station without any checking or any other formalities now. Satheesh T S (name changed), a native of Thrissur, who recently visited Chennai twice, said he had taken an e-pass when he first visited Chennai. But none of the officials have asked him anything even after the journey. "Second time I skipped the e-pass and RT-PCR test and nobody in my vicinity knew that I had gone and returned after a short stay in Chennai," he added.
Speaking to Express, Railway spokeperson, Trivandrum Division, said "The Railway has issued an advisory urging passengers to check travel guidelines of their destination states before boarding trains. It is up to the state government to make sure that the protocols are adhered to by the passengers in the respective destinations."
Another officer on condition of anonymity said the Railways gave a letter to the chief secretary urging to place a mechanism to check the passengers.
In the case of road passengers, the Kerala police have been asking the passengers to undertake an RT-PCR test here after entering the state if they didn't take test prior to travel. But their counterparts in Tamil Nadu have set up a swab collection point at inter-State border check-post at Kaliyikkavila in Thiruvananthapuram and only those who have undertaken RT-PCR test are allowed to enter the state. If the passenger has not taken the test prior to the journey, he can give his swab at the collection point at the check-post and continue his journey. If he tests positive for the virus, the authorities will contact and ask him to seek medical care.
Parassala Station House Officer, Sreejith Janardhanan, said "We have asked the health department in Kerala to set up a similar mechanism in Kerala as well. At present we are asking the passengers who travel without RT-PCR negative results to undergo a test once they reach the destination and stay indoor till they receive the results," he said.