International passengers flying into Kerala can directly observe 14 days of home quarantine, and need not spend a week in institutional quarantine, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday.
Earlier, expats flying into Kerala had to mandatorily spend seven days in institutional quarantine. Those who tested negative and those did not exhibit symptoms during the seven-day stint would then be allowed to observe home quarantine for an additional week — completing 14 days in total.
With the amended rules, those who have facilities in their house, including a separate room and an attached restroom where they can safely quarantine themselves, will be allowed to go home. Those who need the government’s help and cannot afford to pay for quarantine facilities can avail institutional quarantine facilities, which do not charge any fare.
Others who wish to stay separately can avail the government’s paid quarantine facilities, which will be arranged in a hotel or tourist home.
“Those who are allowed home quarantine must arrange their own private vehicles or e-taxis. They should notify the police, the local self government departments and the district collector of their arrival. Local body officials will make sure that the facilities at home are satisfactory. Police will also monitor if the patient reaches home on time and does not violate quarantine. If there is an issue, the patient will immediately be shifted to institutional quarantine,” Chief Minister Pinarayi said in his press meet.
Marking out containment zones
Everyday before midnight, the state will mark out containment zones and notify them.
Zones are marked out ward-wise in panchayats and sub-ward wise in municipalities. Further, local factors such as ports, residential areas, colonies, streets and markets are also looked into before marking out the zones.
A ward automatically turns into a containment zone when:
a) one person turns positive through local transmission
b) two people under home quarantine test positive for the virus
c) more than 10 primary contacts of a positive case are under observation in one ward
d) more than 25 secondary contacts of positive cases are under observation in one ward
The ward will be notified as a containment zone for a period of seven days, following which the district collector will take a call on extending the status.
If 50 percent of the units (wards or sub wards) are containment zones, then the local body in charge will be notified as a ‘red colour coded’ local self government department.