Air travellers to be put in quarantine centres in J-K

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday said air travellers to the state will be kept in quarantine centres for 14 days and tested for coronavirus.

Thirty kiosks have been set up at Srinagar airport for collection of samples.

Authorities reviewed arrangements at the airport as domestic flights resume on Monday after a gap of two months.

Dheeraj Gupta,the nodal officer for overseeing the arrangements for incoming flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, finalised the standard operating procedure (SOP) for receiving and facilitating the passengers, an official spokesperson said.

Gupta chaired a meeting of officers from the civil administration and other agencies concerned, the spokesperson said.

As per protocol, all passengers coming to Jammu and Kashmir by air shall be kept in institutional quarantine for 14 days and tested for COVID-19.

"Their sampling shall be done at the Srinagar Airport and transport arrangement to their respective districts has been put in place. The test samples shall be sent to the SKIMS and those passengers who test negative shall be sent home and if positive sent to hospital," he said.

The passengers shall be lodged in various accommodations arranged by the district administration concerned. Besides, paid quarantine facility has also been made available for the convenience of the passengers, he added.

After disembarking at Srinagar airport, the passengers will have to fill up their particulars in a form devised by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The officials at the airport would also check the status of Aarogya Setu application on mobile devices, carry out thermal screening at the departure point of airports and passengers showing symptoms would not be allowed to board the flight, he added.