Kerala govt issues new guidelines for short-term visits to state

Thiruvananthapuram, June 15: The Kerala government on Monday released guidelines for short-term visits to the state.

The order stated, "They (visitors) shall provide details of local itinerary along with purpose of visit, local accommodation&contact person. Any deviations from this shall be informed to authorities with valid reasons."

Here are standard operating procedure (SOP) and health advisory issued by Kerala:

• Travellers should register on the covid-19 jagratha portal and obtain entry pass for their visit
• Concerned district collectors will approve the short visit after verifying the details
• The local contact persons/company/firm/sponsor shall also be responsible for the short visit of the person
• They shall go directly to the hotel/place of stay without halting at any places in between the place of arrival and place of stay.
• They shall not meet anyone or visit any places other than the purpose for which they got permission. They shall not visit any hospital or public places.
• They should refrain from coming in contact with elderly (above 60) people with children below 10 years
• Students who come for attending an examination or for other academic purposes shall not go out of their rooms for any purpose other than the approved one
• During their stay in Kerala, the traveller should follow all Covid-19 advisories and precautions including social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing face masks
• Travellers should carry hand sanitiser and an extra face mask white travelling
• Room service or online food delivery facility should be sought for their sustenance.
• They should not extend their stay in Kerala without obtaining prior permission from Government authorities concerned
• They should contact DISHA helpline 1056 they develop any symptoms of fever, sore throat, cough, breathlessness and diarrhoea even if mild. They should not come out of their room without the permission of local public health authority.
• If they develop any symptoms, even if mild, they shall be moved to Covid-19 treatment centres and they need to undergo testing and based on the result further management shall be offered.
• If the traveller tests positive within 14 days after return from the state, they shall inform the control room at once
• If the traveller fails to follow any of these conditions, they should undergo 14 days institutional or paid quarantine.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday requested the Centre to make arrangements for the return of the expats from abroad making more testing kits available for them.

In a letter to PM Modi, the Kerala CM has also asked the Centre to make testing 'free' for the expats saying that if there is no facility for PCR tests, at least rapid tests should be done for the returnees in the state.