The government has temporarily suspended issue of travel pass for Keralites returning from other States reportedly because the ground-level surveillance staff are not informed of the whereabouts of those who have already come back since Wednesday.
Sources said the Health Department staff stationed on the State borders were not collecting specific details of those who were returning.
Members of a family who returned by car from Karnataka through the Walayar border told The Hindu on Thursday that the health staff checked only the travel pass and examined their body temperature. The number of passengers in the vehicle and their identity proof too were taken note of. Where they were heading to, if they were coming from a red zone where possibility of COVID-19 transmission was high, and details of those who were at home were not sought.
Members of the ground-level rapid response teams (RRT), which include Health Department staff, local elected representatives and police personnel, were not informed of their arrival at many places.
A health inspector in Malappuram district claimed that the arrival of a three-member family in his jurisdiction was informed by the local residents hours after their return. In other words, the District Collectors, who are issuing the travel pass, were not reportedly getting details of the returnees from other States in time, he said.
If information about the arrival of a group of people is not passed on to the RRT, surveillance might get delayed. They might also infect others in the vicinity even if instructions had been to go in 14-day home quarantine, he added.
Thus, the issuance of travel pass was reportedly suspended to ensure that those who had already returned were quarantined properly and their details are included in the surveillance mechanism.
Mandatory quarantine
Now, the government wants everyone returning from red zones to be at its quarantine centres for a minimum of 14 days. Earlier, those returning from other States were asked to be in a seven-day home quarantine.
Also, the returnees would have to give details of the location where they would be in quarantine on the border itself. Local bodies and the police would have to be informed about the travel details and it should be uploaded on the COVID-19 Jagratha web application.
