A day after Karnataka allowed entry of medical emergency cases from neighbouring Kasargod district of Kerala through Talapady on NH 66 after Supreme Court intervention, not a single patient entered Dakshina Kannada till 9 a.m.
The district administration that had already deployed a medical team to screen goods vehicles entering Karnataka from Kerala in two shifts will augment the system by adding one more shift. A team consisting of a medical doctor and a part medic from the health department was being assisted by the police to screen the crew of incoming vehicles when The Hindu visited Talapady on Wednesday morning.
Personnel at Talapady check post, led by an inspector of police said government ambulances ferrying emergency patients with certification from government medical officers of Kasargod have not arrived since Tuesday evening after the relaxation.
Besides primary checking of documents, the medical team would also check the patient whether he or she was having any symptoms of fever or respiratory illness. Such cases would not be allowed entry as per the government direction, the personnel said.
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh, in an order on Tuesday evening, said patients in need of emergency medical treatment and road accident victims only would be allowed to enter.
The government medical officer of Kasargod has to certify that the patient is non-COVID and the particular treatment was not available in Kasargod. The ambulance should have only the patient, one attendant and one paramedic along with the driver.