7 Days Institutional Quarantine Mandatory for People Returning from Maharashtra to Udupi – Minister Dr K Sudhakar

7 Days Institutional Quarantine Mandatory for People Returning from Maharashtra to Udupi – Minister Dr K Sudhakar

Udupi: Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that tests and seven days institutional quarantine is mandatory for people returning from Maharashtra before they are sent home.

He was speaking at a press meet held at the Udupi DC office on Wednesday, June 3. Dr K Sudhakar said that these suggestions have come from not just experts but also elected representatives as the district has witnessed a sudden spike in COVID-positive cases after a large number of people, mostly migrant workers, returned from Maharashtra. It would be challenging to quarantine all the suspected in institutions. Home quarantine would be better. “As on May 31, the state has 64 laboratories, which tested 3,31,682 people of which only 3,792 were positive, which means that only one in every 100 people tested is positive. This positivity rate of 1% is among the lowest in the country. Even the mortality rate in the state being 1.5-2 percent, is one of the lowest in the country and is lesser than the national average.

In a bid to decentralise COVID-19 tracing and treatment, the government has decided to set up task forces in urban and rural areas. At the rural level, each village and in urban areas every ward will be considered as a unit.

The head of the Zilla panchayat will be considered the chief executive officer of the task force in rural areas. They will ascertain who should get tested and treated. In urban areas, where the city municipal corporations exist, each ward will be treated as a unit, the Minister added.

The Minister also appealed to the public not to attach a stigma to COVID-19 patients. It is a viral infection, not a social evil or a social stigma. Clarifying the fear about the infection, the Minister said that the pandemic requires better preparation to face, and there is no need to panic. I have been stating the same since the beginning. However, the public is in fear. I am worried that an infected person may suffer more due to fear of the infection than the virus.

Udupi DC G Jagadeesh, ZP CEO Preethi Gehlot, ZP president Dinakar Babu, MLA’s Raghupathi Bhat, Sunil Kumar, Sukumar Shetty and Haladi Srinivas Shetty were present.