Quarantine for all from risk nations

State goes into aggressive screening mode

The Telangana government is moving aggressively to contain potential outbreaks of

Covid-19 clusters in the state and has decided to quarantine all international passengers arriving in the city from seven high risk countries — China, South Korea, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Iran.

So far, the state has been following the Central guidelines with respect to hospital referrals, quarantining and allowing people to go home for observing quarantine procedures in their residences.

The two latest cases of Covid-19 in the state, one from Aswaraopet in Bhadadri Kothagudem district that was confirmed on Saturday, and the other, a man in his forties with travel history to The Netherlands in Europe, were those who did not exhibit any symptoms upon landing and were allowed to go home.

To prevent recurrence of such cases, and as the Novel Coronavirus can manifest itself between two to 14 days of a person being exposed to it, the state government has decided to seek clearance from the Centre for mandatory quarantine at a government facility for all returnees from the seven identified countries.

According to Central guidelines, passengers in Category A are those who exhibit symptoms upon arrival and are sent straightaway to the hospital. Those in Category B are the ones who are 60 years or older and have other existing health conditions. Those in Category C comprise passengers who do not exhibit any symptoms but are required to maintain quarantine procedures at home for

14 days after arrival. The Telangana government on Sunday wrote to the Centre saying that it would like to quarantine both category B and C passengers as a matter of abundant precaution at facilities it has identified. Among these is

the Haritha Plaza hotel at Vikarabad, the Forest Research Academy at Dulapally, and 450 rooms available in the residential quarters at Gachibowli

Stadium.

The idea is to keep a close eye on everyone returning from abroad, for their own well being as well as for those around them.