24-hr quarantine for all international travelers to Pune

All passengers landing at the Pune airport from foreign destinations will be put in hospital quarantine for 24 hours irrespective of whether they have any symptomsof coronavirus, a senior official said on Tuesday.

He also warned of stern action if those put in-home quarantines violates the norms and mingle in public. The city has had seven confirmed cases of coronavirus while the neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad has reported ten cases. The latest case came to light on Tuesday.

Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said the authorities had made "a small amendment" to the set protocol for screening international passengers.

"For the last couple of days, all passengers coming from foreign destinations were placed under institutional (hospital) quarantine for 24 hours irrespective of whether they show any symptoms," he said.

Earlier this applied to only those who had a travel history to the countries hit hardest by the virus outbreak. In institutional quarantine, passengers undergo a thorough medical investigation, he said. Thereafter, those who need only home quarantine are discharged while those exhibiting coronavirus symptoms stay on, he said.

"We have a 520-bed facility for institutional quarantine and we are adding another 250 beds," Mhaisekar said. Those who have returned from foreign countries will be tracked down in a more effective manner and the district administration will not leave any stone unturned till they contact the last passenger, he said.

The commissioner warned of strict action against people who violate home quarantine norms. "We take undertakings from home-quarantined persons that during the incubation period they will not leave their houses. We have been receiving many complaints and photographs (of such people stepping out). I would like to tell these people that by stepping out, they are putting others' lives at risk," he said.

If a person under home quarantineis found violating the norms, he or she will be immediately put under institutional quarantine, the senior official said. Meanwhile, to prevent crowding, the administration has asked the Regional Transport Office not to issue new licenses till March 31. "Vehicle registrations will be done at showrooms and no one will go to RTO offices," Mhaisekar said, adding that those who want to renew licenses can do so online.

As to the person who tested positiveon Tuesday, the commissioner said he had a travel history to the United States. "He came to Mumbai on March 14 via Dubai and later approachedus. We are obtaining details of his Mumbai-Pune journey and his first contacts are being checked," Mhaisekar said.

As many as 18 new people who think they were exposed to the coronavirus have been admitted to isolation wards, while 32 others were discharged as they tested negative in the last 24 hours, he said.

During house-to-house survey of areas where confirmed coronavirus cases were found, 7,000 families were screened and over 21,000 people were examined in the last 24 hours, he said.

"Five people were found suspicious (had symptoms) and they were sent to institutional quarantine," he said. To reduce crowds in the city, the fleet of civic PMPML buses has been reduced by over 500 to 600 buses. "The number of buses plying on the road was around 1,700 and that has been brought down to over 1,100 and as a result the number of commuters has gone down to 9 lakh from 12 lakh," he said.

District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said that local bodies elections in Pune district have been put off. To a question, he said there would not be a blanket ban on eateries as a lot of people depend on outside food.