Quarantine after flight in 3 states

DOMESTIC TRAVEL Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are considering similar moves

NEWDELHI: A Delhi business executive who has a business meeting in Bengaluru can now fly to the city — airline services are being restored from Monday — but faces the prospect of a seven-day quarantine at an institution and another seven days out of it.

Karnataka, Punjab, and Kerala have decided on a 14-day quarantine for domestic passengers, with variations. Karnataka’s is restricted to travellers from areas with a high incidence; Punjab

and Kerala have mandated a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the state. There are reports that Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are also considering the quarantines.

Aviation minister Hardeep Puri on Saturday emphasised that those taking domestic flights need not (and should not) be quarantined. But the states do not seem to be in agreement.

NEWDELHI: A Delhi business executive who has an all-important business meeting in Bengaluru can now fly there -- domestic airline services are being restored from Monday -- but faces the prospect of a seven-day quarantine at a state-run institution and another seven days out of it.

To avoid it, travellers will have to provide a Covid-19 negative certificate from an Indian Council of Medical Research approved laboratory, based on a test and dated two days before the date of travel.

Karnataka, Punjab, and Kerala have decided on a 14-day quarantine for passengers, with variations. Karnataka’s is restricted to travellers from areas with a high incidence (such as Delhi); Punjab and Kerala have mandated a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the state by any means. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are also considering quarantines.

While the Ministry of Civil Aviation last week allowed states to formulate their own procedures regarding passenger movement, civil minister Hardeep Puri has repeatedly emphasized that those taking domestic flights need not (and should not) be quarantined.“We have clarified that if anyone has the Aarogya Setu app, it’s like a passport and you are safe; why should anybody want any quarantine,” Puri said in a Facebook Live discussion on Saturday. His reference is to the government’s contact-tracing app that has been downloaded by 1.2 million people and which is recommended, although not mandatory, for travel by plane, or train.

But the states do not seem to be listening.

Karnataka said passengers travelling from high incidence zones will have to stay under state-run quarantine for seven days and home quarantine for another seven. Those from other states will be home quarantined for 14 days. However, businesspersons travelling with the negative test certificate will not be quarantined.

An official in the Andhra Pradesh government said that the state is considering following “the Karnataka line”. Punjab announced a 14-day home quarantine for those entering the state.

Those travelling to Kerala, an official in the chief minister’s office said will be home quarantined for 14 days. A senior official in Telangana said that the matter is still “under discussion” .

Chhattisgarh has asked the Centre to make a 14-day quarantine period at a state or paid facility mandatory for all those taking domestic flights.

It is unlikely that the civil aviation ministry will intervene although what’s needed would appear to be a set of guidelines applicable across India.“States have been given the option to take their own decisions,” said an official in the aviation ministry. “Many (states) were on board with opening the domestic airspace, we hope other states will realise that a mandatory quarantine will not make sense.”

Air India and SpiceJet are planning to resume operations Monday. SpiceJet will be flying to and fro from 41 destinations. Air India will be operating 102 flights as of now. Both airlines said that a reasonable number of bookings have been made for Monday. Vistara did not respond to requests for comment and IndiGo representatives could not be reached for comment. A GoAir spokesperson said it is set to resume operations from June 1.