Karnataka’s rules for international fliers may spark confusion: experts

The directions issued by the Karnataka government on December 31, two days after the guidelines from the Centre, say asymptomatic passengers from the six countries should “strictly remain in home quarantine for the next seven days”.

Symptomatic passengers from the six countries will be isolated at designated government or private medical facilities and samples will be collected for RT-PCR test and genome sequencing, as per the Karnataka guidelines.

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A Different set of travel guidelines from the union health ministry and the Karnataka government on passengers from six countries — China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Thailand — is likely to lead to confusion among international travellers, say experts.

The Health Ministry’s guidelines, which came into effect from Sunday (January 1), clearly state the passengers from the six countries need to upload a negative RT-PCR report, conducted 72 hours prior to travel, on the government’s Air Suvidha portal. “This will also apply to transiting passengers through the (six) countries… irrespective of their originating country,” said a letter by additional secretary from the health ministry, Lav Agarwal, on Monday. The health ministry guidelines also specify random sampling of 2% of all international travellers, including those from the six countries.

The directions issued by the Karnataka government on December 31, two days after the guidelines from the Centre, say asymptomatic passengers from the six countries should “strictly remain in home quarantine for the next seven days”. Symptomatic passengers from the six countries will be isolated at designated government or private medical facilities and samples will be collected for RT-PCR test and genome sequencing, as per the Karnataka guidelines.

Harsh Mahajan, the chairperson of the health committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, said, “Guidelines for international travellers should be uniform across the country otherwise it will be confusing for international travellers. Yes, Bengaluru has a high footfall of international travellers, but it is not any different from metros like Delhi and Mumbai. Besides following such guidelines would be difficult for those travelling for short duration for business etc. The states should stick to the guidelines issued by the Centre.”

He added, “It is good to be aware of what is going on, but such guidelines may create unnecessary panic.”

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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