More on Covid-19

BENGALURU: In order to better implement social distancing so as to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Karnataka health and family welfare department late on Wednesday said it will “stamp the back of the palm” of people advised to be on home quarantine , indicating the date they are allowed to get out of home. The stamping process will begin from 12am on Thursday.Pankaj Kumar Pandey, commissioner, health and family welfare, said: “It is noted that a few passengers under home quarantine are not following the instructions properly. Therefore, it has been decided to stamp the back of the palm of their left hand with a specially designed stamp which will indicate the last day of quarantine.”He said that the special stamp will use an indelible ink, and that the “airports have been instructed to follow this without fail.”The department further stressed on the fact that social distancing is the only known method of combating the spread of Covid-19, said: “International passengers arriving are being segregated as symptomatic and asymptomatic.”The symptomatic passengers (Group-A) are being taken to designated hospitals, while asymptomatic ones, depending on the port of origin are either being taken to the quarantine centre or permitted to go on home quarantine.Further, at the mass quarantine centre, the asymptomatic passengers are divided into moderate risk (Group-B) and High risk (Group-C) categories.“The moderate risk passengers are being kept at a mass quarantine centre for medical observation. The low risk passengers are being sent for home quarantine where they need to spend 14 days,” the statement added.