Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the government would henceforth allow returnees to quarantine themselves at home.
He said the home quarantine system in Kerala had proven highly successful due to high social vigilance and cooperation. It had rendered the need for institutional quarantine on arrival irrelevant except in select cases. On entry, authorities would test the international and inter-State travellers for flu symptoms.
Asymptomatic entrants would be allowed to proceed home in their vehicles after signing an affidavit that they would adhere to the pandemic control protocol. They would also have to testify that they had a bath-attached private room at their disposal in their house.
Those who could afford board and lodging could opt for the 14-day strict quarantine at hotels designated by the government. Returnees who have no access to safe isolation could opt for institutional quarantine in government facilities. They could go to their homes, hotels or institutional quarantine centres in hired or own vehicles. The police would monitor their check-in time.
The government had categorised persons who arrived in the State from within the country or abroad as ‘high risk’ persons. So far, 2,19,492 persons had returned to Kerala. An estimated 64% of them were from COVID-19 ‘red zones’.
Jagratha portal
Mr Vijayan clarified that only persons who register their identity particulars and proposed travel plan on the COVID Jagratha portal of the State government could enter Kerala legally. They should give an affidavit in advance stating that the details they rendered were valid and would adhere to outbreak control law. The government would examine the testimony. If the authorities noticed any inconsistency, they would send the traveller to institutional quarantine for a mandatory period of 14 days.
The government would use a triad of local body officials, police, pandemic control volunteers, members of the neighbourhood watch, mobile phone location reporting tools and digital surveillance to ensure that arrivals remained in quarantine for the mandatory period.
