The State government on Friday further tightened border controls to pre-empt what Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described as a possible third wave of COVID-19 infection from surging over Kerala.
Mr. Vijayan said check-post authorities would allow only citizens with entry passes issued by the Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs (NoRKA) to enter the State. They should compulsorily have a travel pass issued by officials of the State or district from which they had commenced their journey to Kerala.
Moreover, returnees could not turn up at the border at will and demand entry. They should align their itinerary with the timetable set by NoRKA and report at the entry point at the time of arrival allotted to them.
NoRKA pass
The State would not allow entry for those who had not registered themselves with NoRKA until the COVID-19 threat receded and lockdown restrictions lifted. The government has banned tightlines and long queues of vehicles at check-posts. Institutional quarantine for 14 days was mandatory for all arrivals.
Only pregnant women, senior citizens above the age of 70 and children under the age of 10 have been exempted. However, they have to isolate themselves at home under the strict watch of visiting health workers.
Mr. Vijayan claimed that Kerala had flattened the disease curve. It had contained the first outbreak in January and the second one in March. The recovery rate in Kerala was among the best in the world. The favourable indicators should not beguile Kerala into dropping its guard. The State still has 33 epidemic hotspots spread across Kannur, Wayanad, Kollam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kasaragod districts.
Moreover, almost 44% of persons who had entered Kerala in the third phase of the lockdown, an estimated 32,891 returnees, were from high-risk red zone districts in other States. Another 45,000 were on their way to the State. Nearly 19,476 of them were from epidemic hotspots. The spectre of a community spread loomed. The police would guard quarantine centres.
“They will not be like flood relief camps. No comings and goings of people will be allowed,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan said citizens should further increase their compliance with lockdown restrictions and epidemic containment regulations. “The coming days call for heightened guard against the disease,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan said it was a civic responsibility and medical necessity to ensure social distance norms were adhered to without any dilution.
