Returnees from Maha exempted from 7-days inst quarantine: K'taka govt

Bengaluru: Further modifying its COVID-19 quarantine norms, the Karnataka government on Monday exempted those travelling to the state from Maharashtra from the mandatory seven days of institutional quarantine.

From now on those travelling to Karnataka from Maharashtra, like people coming from other states, will have to undergo 14 days of home quarantine.

“Persons coming from other states to Karnataka, including Maharashtra, shall be placed in 14-days home quarantine,” an order by Principal Secretary Revenue Department (Disaster Management) and Member Secretary, State Executive Committee N Manjunatha Prasad said.

It said, the other conditions as specified in the earlier order and standard operating procedure issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare shall continue to be in force until further orders.

Till now those coming from Maharashtra had to undergo seven days of institutional quarantine, followed by seven days of home quarantine.

Changing its quarantine rules the government had recently exempted those travelling to the state from Tamil Nadu and Delhi from three days of institutional quarantine and had said they will have to go for 14 days home quarantine like those travelling from other states.

During last month returnees from Maharashtra had immensely contributed to the spike in the number of cases in Karnataka, which now has cumulatively 23,474 positive including 372 deaths and 9,847 discharges.