The Karnataka government has made it mandatory for students and employees returning from Kerala to undergo institutional quarantine arranged by their respective educational institutions and offices, and “under no circumstances such persons shall be permitted to be in home isolation,” a government circular issued on Wednesday said.

The circular states that arrivals from Kerala— other than students or employees— should produce RT-PCR negative reports and remain in home quarantine for seven days. Institutional quarantine as well is for seven days. On the seventh day, they will be tested again and released only on testing negative.

The order stated that all students and employees should carry a negative RT-PCR certificate not older than 72 hours, irrespective of being vaccinated, and the validity of the test certificate is only a week.  

WHO IS EXEMPT FROM INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE?
Constitutional functionaries, healthcare professionals, their spouses
Children below 2 years of age
Those in a dire emergency situation (death in the family, medical treatment etc.)
Short-term travellers (within three days)
Students arriving for examination with one parent (within three days)
Passengers in transit from and to Kerala via any mode of transport