Kerala has decided to place people aged over 65 under reverse quarantine in the third phase of lockdown, as the magnitude of reverse migration to the state seems larger than what was anticipated. The first set of 200 return migrants are to be brought to Kochi from the Maldives by ship in a week.
Reverse quarantine is a time-tested practice during any pandemic which does not have a vaccine. While healthy youths may go out to fend for their livelihoods, the government has directed people over 65 years and children below 10 years in red zones to stay safe indoors without utilising travel relaxations in the third phase of lockdown,” state health minister KK Shailaja told FE.
Kerala is particular about maintaining its gains in Covid-19 mortality rate and is anxious about the potential influx of asymptomatic patients, as it opens doors to non-resident Keralites. In March, it was a handful of foreign returnees who had turned a whole district into a red zone for weeks.
As many as 4.15 lakh NRIs have so far registered on state government’s Norka website to return to Kerala. The state government, according to Dr S Irudayarajan, migration economist, is expecting return migration of 2 lakh people.
We have set up committees at the level of civic bodies to monitor the health of those in reverse quarantine.
Palliative care units will also be plied to address mental health,” says health secretary Rajan Khobragade. According to the data collected by accredited health workers (ASHA), 11% of the 40 lakh people in Kerala who are above 60 years of age need extra care. About 59% of the elderly have hypertension or diabetics, which could make them pushover for complications due to co-morbidities, if they get Covid-19 infections.
Meanwhile, out of those planning to return from the Gulf countries, 61,009 have lost their jobs. Over 9,000 registrations are those of pregnant women, 10,628 of children and 2,902 are of students. These will have priority as the Centre rolls out evacuation plans.
We have developed a quarantine protocol for both overseas returnees as well as 1.5 lakh Keralites stranded in other states due to the lockdown and are keen to return,” said state chief secretary Tom Jose.
