On Monday, the Karnataka government had issued changes to the quarantine rules for inter-state travellers coming to Karnataka. The new rules state that inter-state travellers including those from Maharashtra will be placed under mandatory 14-day home quarantine.
The previous regulation on June 26th had stated that travellers from Maharashtra would be placed under institutional quarantine.
All inter-state travellers to be placed under home quarantine
In a revised order dated 6th July, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka has stated that all inter-state travellers must be placed under a mandatory 14-day home quarantine upon arriving in the state. This includes travellers from Maharashtra.
In an order on June 26th, it was mentioned that institutional quarantine was going to apply for travellers from Maharashtra. Prior to this on June 8th, three-day institutional quarantine was mandated for all those coming from Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
The change on 6th July was made with regard to the Unlock 2 guidelines which has permitted the reopening of more activities in the state. The order read, "The guidelines permit unrestricted inter-state movement of persons and goods adhering to the SOPs/Guidelines issued by the Department of the Health and Family Welfare and Department of Revenue (Disaster Management)."
The order further reads,"The quarantine norms are regularly reviewed and calibrated with the prevailing Unlock 2 guidelines and infusion of technology and community involvement to enforce strict home quarantine." The other conditions in the previous SOP will stand unchanged.
The concern with this new revision is that there have been home quarantine violations in the past in the city. It is yet to be seen if the implementation of the order will be effective in fighting the spread of COVID-19.
