Covid-19: Karnataka closes borders with Kerala in view of rising cases

 Long queues of vehicles could be seen in the border areas since morning as Karnataka authorities sealed many roads

With the Karnataka government reinstating stricter control of transit passengers from Kerala in view of increasing Covid-19 positive cases, people here bound to Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada for various purposes including medical needs and studies are in a fix again.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen in the border areas since morning as Karnataka authorities sealed many roads including national highways and restricted entry only for those with Covid-19 negative certificates. The Dakshina Kannada authorities sealed all borders from Monday except four to cross over, sources said. According to Karnataka officials at the borders, those who wish to enter have to produce Covid-19 negative certificate through an RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to their cross over time. Health and police personnel are on duty at the four borders, viz.Talapady in Mangalore taluk, Saradka in Bantwal, Nettanige-Mudnuru in Puttur taluk and Jalsoor in Sullia, to verify and allow people’s entry into Karnataka.

The residents in and around Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala, have been thronging Mangaluru in Karnataka for decades for treatment at the speciality hospitals there. While Mangaluru is just about 10 to 50 kms from anywhere from Kasaragod, the nearest available facility is in Kannur, which is as far as 100 km. People in and around Kasaragod had struggled a lot during the initial days of the lockdown when the Karnataka authorities restricted movement of people into their territory.