COVID-19: Dakshina Kannada charging Rs 1,200-4,500/day from international evacuees for quarantine

Mangaluru: The Dakshina Kannada district administration has fixed charges for quarantine facilities starting from Rs 1,200 up to Rs 4,500, including food per day, for those who arrived here by air or sea.

The first repatriation flight to Mangaluru International Airport is expected to land on May 12 from Dubai.

The quarantine facilities include lodges, hostels and service apartments. Rates are fixed based on four categories: basic, economy, medium and premium. The basic facilities are mainly hostels of educational institutions, and the rest are budget and star hotels, said Rahul Shinde, probationary IAS officer, who is In-charge of the quarantine facilities for those being repatriated.

The administration has kept close to 1,000 rooms ready for quarantining, Rahul said there was no issue in quarantining people air condition hotels.

Once the people land in Mangaluru, they will be given the option to choose their accommodation, according to their wishes and budget. They will then be transported to the facility. Each quarantine facility will have a doctor, who will monitor the health of inmates on a regular basis.

Many working in the energy-rich Gulf countries, the US, the UK, France, Italy and from South-East Asia are expected to be repatriated to Dakshina Kannada. Apart from taking the air route, some of them will sail to Mangaluru.

According to an estimation, as many as 3,000 Indians from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts are expected from the world over and will be landing either at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) or at the Mangaluru Port. (UNI)