Karnataka Imposes 7-Day Home Quarantine for Travellers from High-Risk Countries

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The state Govt of Karnataka on Saturday issued new guidelines for preventing COVID-19 infections in travellers from high-risk countries and said that all travellers arriving from high-risk countries must spend seven days in quarantine at home.

Passengers travelling from such countries, according to the authorities, must have a negative COVID status. To increase surveillance and containment efforts within the state, the government decided to trace and quarantine the primary and secondary contacts of COVID-positive people.

Guidelines For International Arrival in Karnataka

A circular issued by the Health Department of Karnataka for international travellers reads;

“The international travellers from high-risk countries – China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand – need to be home quarantined for 7 days from their arrival date. Once tested positive, the infected people are to be treated and managed as per the State COVID protocol.”

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Furthermore, it stated that each passenger’s RT-PCR certificate should be checked for negative COVID status before allowing them to leave the airport.

“If any international passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, or Thailand are found symptomatic upon arrival, they shall be immediately isolated and transferred to the designated medical facility for clinical management,” the guideline stated.

If the RT-PCR results were positive, the samples should be collected and submitted for genome sequencing.

Other asymptomatic passengers should leave the airport and self-monitor their health for symptoms, as well as comply with COVID-appropriate behaviour (CAB) such as face mask use, social distancing, respiratory and hand hygiene, and strict home quarantine for the next seven days, according to the guideline.

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The Health Department also said that “If the passengers develop symptoms like fever, cough, cold, body ache, headache, loss of taste and smell, diarrhoea, and breathing difficulty, they shall immediately self-isolate and report to the local surveillance health team for testing.”

“If tested positive, they shall be shifted to the designated medical facility (government or private) for isolation. Positive samples shall be sent for genome sequencing,” it added.

If the genome sequencing report shows that someone is positive for the BF.7 variant or a new sub-variant, another sample should be taken for RT-PCR, and the person should strictly follow CAB until the results are known, according to the department.

Children under the age of 12 who are exempt from both pre-departure and post-arrival testing must self-monitor for symptoms and remain at home for 7 days after arrival. If symptoms appear during this time, the child must follow the same protocol for isolation and treatment as adults, with a healthy parent or guardian.

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(With Inputs From PTI)


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Manish Khandelwal
Manish Khandelwal

Manish Khandelwal, a travel-tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in the travel industry. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Travelobiz.com, he's passionate about writing.

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