BackCoronavirus: Karnataka mulls doing away with institutional quarantine
Karnataka has already halved mandatory institutional quarantine for those coming from other states to seven daysIt is now deliberating on doing away with the system completely due to resource constraints and to avoid the risk of spreading covid-19
PremiumBENGALURU: An expert committee, comprising epidemiologists and virologists among others, has recommended to the Karnataka government to do away with institutional quarantine, government officials said.
Karnataka has already halved mandatory institutional quarantine for those coming from other states to seven days, and is now deliberating on doing away with the system completely due to resource constraints and to avoid the risk of spreading covid-19 within these crowded facilities.
“Our expert committee has given its opinion that it (institutional quarantine centres) may not have utility and keeping too many people in institutional quarantine may have (other) negative effects due to crowding also," Jawaid Akthar, additional chief secretary, health and family welfare said.
The deliberation to do away with institutional quarantine comes even as the state witnesses a sharp surge in covid-19 cases as many of those who returned from other states have tested positive in recent days. Doing away with institutional quarantine could also pose a risk of community spreading since 88% or 2,129 of those who tested positive till noon on Wednesday are asymptomatic and the rest symptomatic. The number of asymptomatic cases account for 96% when it comes to active cases. It makes screening for temperature, an important safety measure in place when more lockdown restrictions are relaxed, a redundant exercise.
“We are one of the few big states which has such a facility," said one cabinet minister, requesting not to be named.
The presence of institutional quarantine has not just helped contain the virus from spreading within the community but also allowed the B.S. Yediyurappa-led state government to relax more restrictions within Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, when compared to other parts of the country.
Removing institutional quarantine is also likely to help normalise covid-19, rid people of the fear of the disease and revive economic activity, officials and political leaders say.
But doing away with institutional quarantine due to space, cost and operational constraints may take away the edge Karnataka had over other states in controlling the spread of covid-19.
Around half of the total 2,493 cases in the state have been detected in the last few days and a majority of them tested positive in institutional quarantine, reducing the risk of spreading the virus within the community. There are around 1.10 lakh people in institutional quarantine centres and around 10,000 people being monitored at home, according to government data.
There are 2,328 people quarantined in various hotels as well.
“Some of these hotels don’t even have kitchen staff or cooks since many have left for their hometowns," said the minister cited above.
It is mandatory for all returnees from high risk states and abroad to undergo mandatory 14 days of institutional quarantine, now brought down to seven days.
Putting more people in home quarantine not only increases the risk of adding more areas to containment centres, but also increases burden on the inadequate health infrastructure which is already under pressure.
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