Punjab to home-quarantine asymptomatic domestic travellers for 14 days

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 25

All domestic travellers entering Punjab who are found asymptomatic or test negative will have to remain under home quarantine for 14 days, new guidelines issued by the Punjab government said.

The rule applies to all modes of domestic transport, including air and train.

International travellers however will have to compulsorily undergo institutional quarantine for at least seven days.

The revised guidelines replace the old ones for domestic and international travellers and offer some new relaxations.

International travellers

The new rules for international travellers, people entering Punjab through airport or seaport/ or landport will have to hand in a self-declaration with their personal and health details to the state and will be screened at their entry.

The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening will be taken to a health facility for testing. If they test positive, they would be sent to Covid Care Centres. Asymptomatic passengers and those testing negative could be taken into paid institutional quarantine (government/hotel quarantine) on payment basis and will have to undergo test on the fifth day.

If they test negative, they can go home at the end of seven days but will be asked to home quarantine themselves and monitor their own health for a further week. They will have to submit a written undertaking about this to health officials, the guidelines say.

Those who test positive will be taken to a government isolation facility. Only under exceptional circumstances such as pregnancy or death of an immediate family member or severe mental illness will a deputy commissioner allow them to quarantine themselves at home. The state health department must be informed of such cases, the guidelines say.

Domestic travellers

In case of domestic travellers, they will be screened at the state’s entry points and those found to have COVID-19 symptoms will be taken to a health facility for testing. From there, those who test positive will be sent to a Covid Care Centre. Those found asymptomatic or testing negative will be allowed to go home after submitting an undertaking that they would quarantine themselves for 14 days, monitor their own health and report to the nearest facility if they show any symptoms for COVID-19.  COVA app is mandatory for all such passengers.

Frequent interstate travellers who need to travel out of Punjab, such as MP/MLA, salespersons, transporters, doctors, journalists, executives, engineers, traders, and consultants, need not undergo home quarantine.

Deputy Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Magistrates will issue passes to such people after they undertake to self-monitor their health and will inform the administration of any symptoms.

Those test positive but are asymptomatic will be kept in Covid Care Centres provided they are below than 60 years and have no comorbidities.

Those who test positive and need medical supervision (those over 60 or show severe symptoms or have any associated co-morbidity) will be moved to Level II or level III facility depending on their medical condition.