JAMMU: Chief Secretary, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the State Executive Committee and in exercise of powers conferred on him under Section 24 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, today issued additional instructions/ modifications/ exemptions to the Protocol for 100% RTPCR testing for certain categories of passengers coming to J&K by air/train/ road and the quarantine procedures set by the government from time to time.
The current instructions of the government mandate 100% Administrative/ Institutional quarantine of all passengers for 14 days or till their test results are reported negative, in which case they are released for Home Quarantine, or if positive, in which case they are sent to a COVID hospital for recovery and treatment.
As per the fresh instructions, issued in continuation of the above instructions, and in supersession of all orders/ instructions on exemptions issued subsequently, certain categories of passengers (listed below), arriving by air, rail or any other means from outside the UT into the UT of Jammu & Kashmir will have a modified quarantine procedure, whereby they will be sampled on arrival for RTPCR testing and sent to Home Quarantine for 14 days; and, if their test result is positive, will be brought to a COVID hospital for recovery and treatment.
The list of such passengers are Pregnant women in the last trimester, with a Doctor’s certificate of pregnancy; Cancer patients on chemotherapy; Chronically ill organ transplant IVF patients, discharged from a hospital after a surgical procedure; Dialysis patients with a doctor’s certificate of being on dialysis; Mothers with infants below 1 year; Children below 10 years traveling alone without a family member; Government of India personnel on bona fide government duty; Ambulance drivers of J&K dropping patients outside the UT, on their return to J&K, if they return within 36 hours of leaving Lakhanpur, passengers/ travellers with an RTPCR test Negative Certificate from an ICMR approved laboratory/ testing facility, not older than 2 days (48 hours) before the arrival date; Business travelers by air/rail to J&K on business/industrial visits, with a confirmed return air/rail ticket booking within 4 days, confirmed hotel reservation and a business ID; Business travelers by road to J&K on business/industrial visits, with an undertaking to return within 4 days, a confirmed hotel reservation and a business ID.
The testing and quarantine procedures prescribed in the Orders in above will be applicable to all air travelers from a Red district to an Orange District within the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
Business travelers to J&K on business/industrial visits, with a confirmed return air ticket booking, confirmed hotel reservation and a business ID, will proceed to their hotel from the airport and restrict their interactions to the business purpose for which they have come.
They will however be sampled on arrival for RTPCR testing and, if their test result is positive, will be brought to a COVID hospital for isolation, recovery and treatment.
They shall also be required to maintain complete details of the persons whom they came in contact with during their stay in J&K. Ambulance drivers of J&K dropping patients outside the UT, on their return, if they return within 36 hours; The personnel of Defense and Central Armed Police Forces returning to duty, including transit labour hired by BRO to go to Ladakh, are exempted from compulsory 100% RTPCR testing and administrative institutional quarantine in any facility authorized by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.
The said personnel shall be allowed to proceed to the institutional quarantine of their respective Units / Formations for necessary quarantine as per their internal procedures.
Any violation of these instructions will attract penalties under the Disaster management Act, 2005 and other provisions of law, the order said.
