A day after the Centre left it to the states the issue of inter-state travel during Lockdown 4.0, the Karnataka government on Monday announced restrictions on the entry of people from four states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to enter its territory till May 31.
It is unclear if people from these states will be allowed to transit through Karnataka and if those who have already procured travel passes will be allowed. “We have decided not to allow people from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu till May 31, but allow in stages,” Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu has the largest number of Covid positive cases while Kerala’s management of the crisis has been exemplary and won worldwide applause.
The announcement came with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the state and mostly among those with domestic travel history as compared to those transmitted through contacts or international travellers.
Incidentally, among the 84 new cases of COVID-19 that were confirmed by the state health department on Monday morning, 56 had recently returned from Mumbai. On Sunday too, 40 among those who tested positive on Sunday were also with recent travel history to Mumbai. The trend of high COVID-19 patients with travel histories to Mumbai was seen from Friday itself. A majority of cases from Kolar district which until recently had zero cases have patients with travel histories to Tamil Nadu while around 60 cases in the state can also be traced back to patients with travel history to Gujarat.
There has been no such spike in cases has been seen with travel histories to Kerala, the so the decision to include the state does send eyebrows shooting up.
-India Legal Bureau