The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday issued revised guidelines for testing and quarantining people coming into the State.
For persons undertaking travel within the State, testing will be done only for those with symptoms and all those travelling will have to undergo home quarantine for 14 days.
State Helpline numbers | State-wise tracker | A map of confirmed cases in India
Persons arriving from other States/Union Territories must undergo tests. If they test positive, they need to be taken to a hospital. For persons coming from hotspots — Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra — even if the test is negative, they need to be in institutional quarantine for seven days. After seven days, if they display no symptoms, they can be in home quarantine or continue in government quarantine, if the individual does not have facilities for home quarantine.
Also read:Coronavirus | Citing COVID-19 spike, TN CM urges PM not to resume air, rail services till May 31
Persons travelling from other States (non-hotspot States) who test negative may be sent to home quarantine. If facilities are not available at their homes, they can be sent to institutional quarantine for 14 days. For travellers from other countries, if the test is positive, they need to be taken to a hospital. If the result is negative, they will have to be in institutional quarantine or hotel quarantine for seven days. After the seventh day, a second test needs to be done. If that test too shows a negative result, they can be sent to home quarantine for 14 more days.
Categories exempted
The government has exempted certain categories from institutional quarantine after initial testing, with an undertaking that if the test result is positive, they will immediately admit themselves to a hospital. These are terminally ill persons and individuals requiring immediate medical attention in a hospital, persons who are due to attend a funeral and rituals associated with death of an immediate family member, pregnant women and persons over 75 years of age and requiring assistance.
All the four categories claiming medical emergency will be subjected to a check-up by a medical team to confirm the emergency. The government said no relaxation will be given to any other category of travellers.
Also read: Coronavirus | Tamil Nadu Cabinet eases lockdown norms in large parts of State
The government has also asked those who seek exemption to submit full details with their representation in advance to the authorities concerned.
People entering the State or leaving must apply for passes on www.nonresidenttamil.org and tnepass.tnega.org . Since the introduction of the e-pass system, nearly three lakh passes have been issued in the last one week.
