Karnataka to closely monitor travellers from Kerala, Maharashtra amid COVID pandemic

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Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has started taking stringent measures to deal with the COVID-19 threat in the state from Monday onwards including tightening the security at the border checkpoints. 

Special teams have been formed to ensure proper surveillance on travellers coming from Kerala and Maharashtra into the state especially to Bengaluru.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has passed an order to check and enforce the RT-PCR tests on travellers coming from Kerala and Maharashtra, which are witnessing a surge in Covid cases.

The special drive will be carried out in Bengaluru and the responsibility is fixed on zonal commissioners and health inspectors. Officers from the revenue department have also been roped in to conduct checks and ensure testing at all entry points in Bengaluru.

Revenue department officials will check whether travellers have a certificate of RT-PCR test of 72 hours. Health department officials will conduct an RT-PCR test for those who do not have the certificate.

Majestic Railway station, bus station, Mysore Road Satellite bus terminal, Yashwanthpur Railway station and bus stop, Kengeri Satellite bus terminal, Shivajinagar bus terminal, Cantonment Railway station, K.R. Puram railway station, which are considered entry points for the travellers coming from these states. They will be strictly monitored on these points.

Guidelines have been prepared by the health secretariat and the government has given strict orders to contain the Covid crisis.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has already announced that after watching developments in the state for 15 days, the government will take a call on imposing restrictions that were lifted recently.

Karnataka logged 1,875 fresh Covid-19 infections and 25 deaths on Sunday which took the total cases in the state to 29,06,999 and death toll to 36,587.

(With inputs from news agencies)