Kerala considers amending NRKs quarantine guidelines

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is exploring the possibility of amending the quarantine guidelines for NRKs and for those who are coming from the red zones in other states. The discussion on amending the guidelines happened during the review meeting here on Friday.
After the meeting, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a discussion happened and that the government is giving final shape to it. “The discussions are on what kind of changes should be brought. The final decision will be taken on Saturday,'' said a top official.
There was discussion that the state had shown a successful model of home quarantine of over 1.5 lakh people who have come from abroad and hence there should be a discussion with the Centre on promoting this instead of the institutional quarantine. Only symptomatic people should be sent for quarantine in the hospitals, which was the general opinion.
The states should be allowed to take a decision on the quarantine guidelines based on the situations prevailing there and hence this should be brought before the notice of the union health ministry.
Even the chief minister admitted in the meeting that the state had set a model on home quarantine of the NRKs and hence the state can do better if we go for home quarantine of the NRKs. The chief secretary is likely to raise this in the video conferencing he will have with the union cabinet secretary on Saturday.
In the meeting, the officials also raised concerns over the institutional quarantine given to the people who are coming from the red zones of other states. In some Covid Care Centres, three or more people are staying in a single room and they are also using common bathrooms.
The experts pointed out that this kind of quarantine will spoil the very purpose of it and hence the state has to rethink accommodating the people who are coming from other states. At present, the state has identified 8912 people who have come from red zones of other states.
Steps are on to find out these people and bring them under the institutional quarantine. So far 3216 people have been shifted to the institutional quarantine.
The review meeting observed that the NRKs and the people from the red zones of other states should not be housed in the same Covid Care Centres. In Thiruvananthapuram, the same centre has been planned for the NRKs and also for the people from other states.