The Health Department has revised the guidelines for travellers coming into Kerala. All domestic travellers will have to register in the e-jagratha portal and undergo RT-PCR tests either 48 hours prior to entering the State or immediately after entering the State, irrespective of their vaccination status.
Those who undertake RT-PCR tests on arrival will have to remain in room isolation at their respective places of stay, till the RT-PCR results are available.
They will stick to universal masking, hand hygiene, and physical distancing protocols.
The person should seek medical care if the test is positive. If at all they develop any symptoms – fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, muscle pain, fatigue, anosmia, or diarrhoea – during their stay in Kerala, they should seek immediate medical care.
Those who do not undergo RT-PCR testing will have to go on room isolation for 14 days from their date of entry to Kerala. They must monitor themselves for any symptoms and seek medical care if necessary. The present protocol for international travellers will continue.
The new guidelines could lead to crowding at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at Walayar. The Tamil Nadu government has been insisting on e-portal registration for entry to the State. People had to get off buses at Walayar and board Tamil Nadu State’s buses to go to Coimbatore and other places. The passengers showed their e-portal registration on mobile phones at the Tamil Nadu government’s check points.
Hundreds of people from Palakkad and nearby regions shuttle to and from Coimbatore every day. While the majority are employees in government and private establishments, many are traders. District Collector Mrunmai Joshi said the district administration would impose the new regulations from Monday.
Barricades removed
Meanwhile, the Kanyakumari district administration opened three of the 12 inter-State border roads that were closed on Saturday.
Barricades were removed from Cheriya Kolla, Panachamoodu, and Kunambana roads much to the relief of the residents of the border areas of Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari districts. The decision comes in the wake of Chief Secretary V.P. Joy conveying to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Rajeev Ranjan the immense hardship caused to the public by the restrictions.
Kerala had argued that restrictions violated the Centre’s guidelines that barred curbs on inter-State movement of people and goods.
