Thiruvananthapuram: Health Minister Veena George has said that as per the central guidelines, a compulsory home quarantine will be introduced for 7 days for all travelers coming to the state from foreign countries.
The RTPCR test will then be performed on the eighth day. Omicron has been confirmed for a total of 280 people in the state. Of these, those from low-risk countries were the most affected. Omicron affected 186 people from low-risk countries and 64 from high-risk countries. Thirty people contracted the disease through contact. Self-monitoring was previously allowed for those coming from low-risk countries. The state had also demanded that most of those coming from low-risk countries also need home quarantine as Omicron has been confirmed. He said the home quarantine system would be tightened as per the central guidelines.
RTPCR checks passengers arriving at the airport for high-risk and low-risk countries. The RTPCR will test all those coming from high-risk countries. If negative, home quarantine should be done for 7 days and an RTPCR test on the eighth day. If negative, self-monitoring should be continued for another 7 days. Samples of those who become covid positive will be sent for genetic testing. They will be subjected to isolation. Treated according to standard protocol and discharged as directed by the treating physician.
The central guideline is to randomly test the samples of 2% of people from low-risk countries. But 20 percent of the samples in the state are randomly tested. Those who become negative should stay in the home quarantine for 7 days. The RTPCR test should be performed on the eighth day. If negative, they should be monitored again for 7 days. Samples of those who are positive are sent for genetic testing. They are treated according to standard protocol. Repeated check-ups during quarantine or self-monitoring for any symptoms or covid positive.
