No decision on mandatory quarantine for international arrivals: BBMP

Bengaluru: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) clarified on Friday that no decision has been taken on mandatory institutional quarantine for international arrivals from ‘at risk’ countries, even if they test negative for COVID-19.

In a letter, the BBMP said, “Any decision taken in this (compulsory institutional quarantine for foreign arrivals from ‘at-risk’ countries) regard would be after due consultation of experts and in conformity with GoI and State govt guidelines.”

This comes after Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said last month that international arrivals will have to mandatorily undergo an RT-PCR test to deal with the threat of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

The central government has added several countries to the “at-risk” list such as those in Europe including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand and Israel.