K'taka makes home isolation mandatory for travellers from coronavirus-hit nations

Bengaluru: Passengers arriving in Karnataka from 77 coronavirus-affected countries will be mandatorily placed under home isolation for a period of two weeks, state health officials said. China, Thailand, Dubai and Italy are among the countries listed.

“Anyone coming from any country which has reported positive coronavirus infections will be placed under home quarantine as a precautionary measure. We are doing this to curb any possible further spread of the infection,” stated Dr Sudhakar, minister of Medical Education told the media on Thursday evening. This will apply to Karnataka's two international airports in Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

Officials also noted that a 14-year-old boy has been admitted to the district hospital in Bidar after developing mild symptoms. The boy’s father had recently returned from Qatar.

The state has been on high alert since earlier this week when a 24-year-old techie who had recently returned from Dubai tested positive for the virus. The man, who is a native of Hyderabad, came to Bengaluru on February 20 from Dubai. He was in the city for a day before taking a bus back to Secunderabad on February 22. A few days later, he developed a fever and was taken to the hospital where his samples were collected. Results confirmed that he was positive for the virus, prompting health officials in both Karnataka and Telangana to begin tracing those who had been in contact with him.

A total of 30 cases across the country have been confirmed as of Thursday evening, with the latest case reported from Ghaziabad. According to PTI, the man had recently traveled to Iran.

Earlier this week, the Union Health Department announced universal screening across India for passengers arriving from all international countries.

Telangana and Delhi have reported one case each. Six individuals in Agra, plus 14 Italians tourists and their Indian driver, have all tested positive for coronavirus disease. Another Italian tourist and his wife, who were visiting Jaipur, were confirmed to have contracted the infection. A PayTM employee based in Delhi was also found to be positive for the virus on Wednesday evening.