Is Karnataka Mulling To Impose Another Covid Lockdown? CM Basavaraj Bommai Clears Air, This is What He Said | Earth Indian

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday made it clear that the government is not planning to impose any lockdown in the state. The statement comes after Karnataka reported a surge in the Covid cases in some educational institutions and the detection of the new strain Omicron. However, the chief minister instructed adherence to strict precautions at schools and colleges, but not to close them.

Urging the people not to panic about the new variant of the Covid virus, Omicron, the chief minister urged to strictly follow Covid-19 guidelines. He further added that the those arriving from the countries where Omicron variant was found are being screened at the airports and that they would be allowed into the cities only if they test negative.

A negative report has been made mandatory for students from Kerala who are studying in Karnataka and a second test is being done on them on the seventh day of the first negative report.

Earlier, the Karnataka government revised guidelines for people coming to the state from ‘at-risk’ or other nations. The revised guidelines asked the travellers from ‘at-risk’ countries to undergo RT-PCR test upon arrival. Besides, the government has made home isolation mandatory for seven days. On the 8th day, the travellers will have to undergo retesting,  the government’s order said.

Key highlights of the guidelines

• International passengers can step out from Airports only with a negative test report.
• On international arrivals, if tested positive, the sample will be sent to genomic sequencing and they will be admitted to a separate isolation facility.
• They will be discharged at the discretion of the treating physician if the genomic sequencing is negative for B.1.1.529 (Omicron variant).
• For travellers coming from countries excluding those enlisted as countries at-risk, a random sample of five per cent of travellers with negative results will undergo RT-PCR testing on arrival. If tested positive, their samples will be sent to genomic sequencing.
• List of countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival include all countries in Europe including the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabve, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

By Shivam Urkude || Earth Indian