As a precautionary measure, the authorities in Karnataka have made the COVID-19 test compulsory for all passengers arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra, officials said on Saturday, 27 November.
An official said awareness, along with vaccination, is necessary amid fears of the new Omicron variant, as well as COVID-19 outbreak at a medical college in Dharwad, Mysuru, and Bengaluru institutions.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai held an emergency meeting on Tuesday over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, which was attended by state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, officials of the state Health Department, and other departments.
What are the restrictions for people entering the country?
The committee decided to intensify screening of international passengers at the airports and make the RTPCR test report compulsory for those arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra.
Only those testing negative for COVID-19 are allowed to enter the city.
The CM has given instructions on deputing special teams at major bus stops, terminals and railway stations to check the passengers and conduct COVID-19 tests.
What are the restrictions for students in schools/colleges?
Students from Kerala who entered the state less than 16 days ago should undergo RT-PCR test again, as per the advisory. Students who are residing in hostels in Karnataka will be tested again on the 7th day after the negative report.
Apart from this, cultural programmes in schools and colleges have been temporarily banned.
The state has also mandated daily screening of students at medical and other educational institutions.
Will public places be shut?
No, public places, including hotels, restaurants, zoos etc will remain open.
However, people working in hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, malls, swimming pools, public libraries, and zoo must be fully vaccinated
What about offices?
There has been no fresh restrictions in this front as well.
However, the government has said that those working in government offices should also be fully vaccinated
Bengaluru has witnessed 160 COVID-19 cases since a week.
However, the city recorded 224 cases on Friday, 26 November, and more cases are found in Anekal region. The officers will have to be vigilant, he said.
The precautionary measures should be implemented to see to it that no cluster of COVID-19 cases comes up.
Currently, there are 63 containment zones in the city and they have to be managed appropriately, Gupta said. The officials will have to take the call to send samples for genomic sequencing to find out about any new variant, he said.
(With ANI and IANS inputs.)
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