The district administration has stepped up its efforts to track international tourists already in Mysuru and who have been put up in resorts, homestays and hotels in a bid to screen them for COVID-19.
The Deputy Commissioner, Abhiram G, Sankar, said here on Monday that the staff of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) are engaged in a survey of hotels and home-stay properties across Mysuru since the last few days and appealed to owners of such properties to provide their travel history and information.
He said the district administration is furnished with information of Mysuru-bound passengers arriving at Bengaluru International Airport. But there are tourists whose first port of arrival is not Bengaluru and have come to Mysuru by train or bus or other means and efforts are on to track them.
“Though we have appealed to the resort and hotel owners to provide the district administration with information there have been instances of non-cooperation’’, said Mr. Abhiram Sankar.
Tourists come for sightseeing or for yoga and these institutions have been directed to provide information to the authorities about any new registrations with an advisory to the traveller to subject themselves to isolation for 14 days. “Isolation is not an arrest and we request the travellers and property owners to cooperate with home quarantine as this is a public health emergency’’ said the Deputy Commissioner.
He cautioned that in the event of any eventuality, those who evaded providing travel history or evaded being screened would be brought to book. “Do not force us to use coercion’’, he said.
In reply to a question on IT industry in Mysuru, the Deputy Commissioner said the officials of the companies were evaluating the situation and giving feedback and have curbed travel. But they would let the authorities know in case the training centres and hostels were to be closed.
The DC said there was no dearth of test kits and infrastructure was being ramped up to cope with any surge in suspect cases. Private hospitals have agreed to reserve at least 10 beds for isolation wards. NGOs and good samaritans had come forward to donate to purchase additional beds for hospital isolation wards.
The DC also cautioned against spreading fake news and pointed out that the drive against street food vendors was to ensure hygiene and had nothing to do with the virus.
