Coronavirus: Mandatory for foreign travellers to register themselves on return to Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Mar 17: In an attempt to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, the Odisha Government has made it mandatory for foreign travellers to register their names on return to the state and avail an incentive of Rs 15,000 for registration and home isolation.

Anyone who comes to Odisha from abroad has to register himself/herself mandatorily with the toll free number 104 or the online portal. https://covid19.odisha.gov.in, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said on Monday.

This should be done within 24 hours of arrival with basic details and phone numbers. However, advance registration before arrival will be highly preferable, Tripathy said, adding they will be required to be in home quarantine for 14 days.

The foreign returnees will be given an incentive of Rs 15,000 for registration and home isolation.

Their location will be tracked during their home isolation and mandated number of calls will be made everyday to keep a close watch and give appropriate medical guidance, he said.

However, to trace and track persons who have already entered the state, (those who have entered the state on or after March 4) a 48-hour period from 6 am of Tuesday (March 17 to March 19) 6 am is allowed to register themselves, the chief secretary said.

This will help the state in tracking persons who are already inside, sensitise them about home isolation and keep a watch on their health for effective monitoring of the situation, Tripathy said, adding registrations can be done by passengers or relatives or friends.

The chief secretary said this direction is issued as per the overall regulations and anyone not complying with the same will be punishable under provisions of the Indian Penal code and Criminal Procedure Code.

This initiative is being taken as a measure of abundant caution to protect the people of Odisha from getting infected by people who may be carriers of COVID-19 coming from abroad, he said.

The chief secretary said the regulation will be in force till April 15 and maybe extended based on situation.

The Odisha government has appealed to everyone travelling from abroad to Odisha to comply with this and be part of the State's efforts in protecting the people, he said.

Maintaining that extraordinary situations demand extraordinary response, Tripathy said, "At this point of time, the biggest source of infection of Covid-19, is persons coming from abroad into the State".

With closure of colleges, universities coupled with lock down in many countries and home-based work option for professionals, it is expected there will be a huge surge of people returning from foreign countries to Odisha, he said.

This multiplies the threat of virus spread into Odisha, he said adding the Central and the state governments have taken many steps to sensitise, sanitise and quarantine passengers coming from foreign countries.

In a message to the people, the chief secretary said, "Your action will save you, your family, your neighbours and the state. We request media for wider circulation. We request the help of Odisha associations abroad for wider publicity. Also PRI institutions for publicity inside the state".