The Karnataka government on Wednesday announced that exemptions will be made to allow pregnant women, elderly persons, children and people suffering from terminal illnesses to undergo home quarantine, instead of institutional quarantine, if they are asymptomatic upon arriving in the state.
The exceptions will be applicable for international and inter-state travellers, and intra-state travellers in high-risk category within Karnataka. However, this is applicable only to asymptomatic persons, a notice issued by the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department stated.
In particular, pregnant women, children below the age of 10 and below, senior citizens aged 80 and above, terminally ill patients including those with cancer, chronic kidney diseases, among other ailments, will be exempted from compulsory institutional quarantine upon arrival.
However, it is unclear if parents of children exempted from institutional quarantine will be allowed to quarantine themselves at home.
Those who are found to be symptomatic will be quarantined in a designated hospital and will be tested for COVID-19.
Another exemption announced is for those coming into the state from Goa. The exception applies only in the event that the district to which the person arrives does not have adequate quarantine facilities and if the district administration verifies the person's origin state to be Goa.
"All the passengers belonging to the above (exempted) categories shall also be subjected to check up by a medical team," the Health Department notice stated.
The medical checkup includes checking of symptoms, temperature and oxygen saturation.
The state government revised its policy on May 11 calling for mandatory institutional quarantine of travellers moving into the state. On Thursday, a train from New Delhi will reach Bengaluru with over 900 passengers. All asymptomatic passengers will be in institutional quarantine, apart from those exempted.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will set up ten desks at the station for medical screening of passengers.