HUBBALLI: People coming to the twin cities from neighbouring Maharasthra and Kerala will have to furnish the result of a RT-PCR test confirming they are negative for the novel coronavirus. In the wake of the state government’s direction, Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) has constituted various teams, which will be guided by the district administration, members of which will monitor the movement of those coming from Maharashtra and Kerala, which have both witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases.
HDMC health officer Dr Sridhar Dandappanavar told TOI, “These teams will be headed by HDMC health inspectors, among others. The members of these teams will be stationed at both government and private bus terminals, among other places, and demand to see a RT-PCR test report from those coming to the twin cities from Kerala and Maharashtra, one that is fewer than 72 hours old.”
Dr Dandappanavar said that they were compiling information from both the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and private bus operators on vehicles that travelled from Maharashtra and Kerala.
He said that, around 90% of those coming to Hubballi-Dharwad from Maharashtra and Kerala had the RT-PCR test result with them. “The others are being quarantined and their swab samples being collected for RT-PCR test, following which they are released. If the report of the test proves that they are positive for novel coronavirus, infected patients will be provided treatment,” Dr Dandappannavar said. More than 10 passengers have been quarantined, and their samples collected for a test. “We will continue to test all drivers, and those arriving in the twin cities from these two states,” he added.
Sources in the HDMC said that buses entering the twin cities from the two states – around 38 of them, including luxury, semi-luxury – were being sanitised thoroughly.
