Following in the footsteps of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Telangana government on Saturday said that it had begun stamping the date of arrival on the hands of passengers who were returning from foreign countries.
The exercise involves stamping the quarantine date on the palms of passengers arriving at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad, with indelible ink. The stamp will show their quarantine period.
"After arrival, they have to quarantine themselves for 14 days. If they develop symptoms during this time period, they have to immediately contact the nearest government health facility or dial 104 health helpline," the government said.
To make sure that this quarantine is strictly adhered to, especially in Hyderabad, 150 teams of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have been deployed. Anyone found violating the home quarantine will be shifted to state-run isolation centres until the quarantine period is completed, GHMC Commissioner Lokesh Kumar said.
Telangana too has started stamping people who return from abroad, and are supposed to be under home quarantine for two weeks. #CoronavirusOutbreakindia pic.twitter.com/Q7zvRFe4wR
— Bala (@naartthigan) March 21, 2020
The teams are verifying and collecting details of their health and also that of their family members. If any person is found with symptoms of coronavirus, the team will immediately inform the control room and the person will be shifted to an isolation centre for further treatment.
So far, the teams have verified 1,400 people at their houses and found no one with coronavirus. The field teams were equipped with safety kits, the Commissioner said.
Besides stamping people who are supposed to be in quarantine, the Telangana govt will also be sticking these stickers outside their residence, cautioning people against visiting the house. pic.twitter.com/AfdoSF2rne
— Bala (@naartthigan) March 21, 2020
The GHMC also said that it was lifting 6,200 to 6,400 metric tonnes of garbage daily and taking up sanitation at several places.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Telangana rose to 21 on Saturday as two more persons were tested positive on Saturday. This included a man who works on a cruise in the United States and had come from Dubai.
The other person is a 33-year-old man from Hyderabad who was a primary contact of a patient, who had come from Dubai and tested positive two days ago.
Three persons including two Indonesians were found positive for COVID-19 on Friday. With this, the total number of infected Indonesians rose to 10. The group, said to be preachers, had stayed in Karimnagar town for two days.
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