In view of the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Kerala, the Kodagu district administration has told the health authorities to tighten screening at the border checkposts.
Deputy Commissioner Charulatha Somal on Thursday visited the Karike checkpost bordering Kerala and inspected the measures taken for screening travellers entering the State.
She told the officers in charge of the checkpost and screening teams to be on alert and ensure that the government guidelines were followed without any lack of attention in the wake of a spurt in cases in the neighbouring State.
The number of people coming to Karnataka from Kerala has gone up after the State eased lockdown curbs. Kutta and Makutta are the checkposts bordering Kerala where health teams have been deployed for screening commuters as per the SOP.
Travellers from Kerala cannot enter Karnataka either through Kutta or Makutta border checkposts if they don’t have an RT-PCR negative test report. They are allowed to enter the State if they produce a vaccination certificate.
Kodagu had stepped up surveillance at the border checkposts after the detection of Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus in Kerala. The travellers are checked at the entry points from Kerala since the Delta Plus variant is seen as a potential threat and described as highly infectious. Kodagu’s positivity rate had worried the district administration and therefore the State government delayed the easing of lockdown curbs in the district.
