Back from coronavirus-hit Spain, 11 Indians quarantined in Amritsar as preventive measure
Prohibitory orders imposed after family members of those quarantined protest against health department for unhygienic conditions at rehab centre
AMRITSAR: The district health department on Monday put 11 Indians in quarantine soon after they landed at the Shri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar from Spain.
The 11 Indian citizens, who belong to different parts of Punjab, have been kept in the isolation ward set up at the Swami Vivekananda Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre here for 14 days.
Last week, the health department decided to quarantine every tourist with a travel history to seven coronavirus-hit countries: China, Iran, Italy, Korea, France, Germany and Spain.
Though the doctors who screened the tourists at the airport did not find any of them suffering from coronavirus symptoms, they referred them to the rehabilitation centre since they had returned from Spain.
The three travellers who reached Amritsar from France and Germany on Saturday were also quarantined at the centre.
‘DIRTY WASHROOMS,
UNHYGIENIC FOOD’
The family members of the 11 Indians protested against the health department for keeping the tourists in isolation even though they did not suffer from any coronavirus symptoms.
They complained of dirty washrooms and unhygienic food at the isolation ward. “We are healthy now but if we stay in such unhygienic conditions, we are bound to fall sick. Since we don’t suffer from any coronavirus symptom, the health department should have quarantined us in our homes,” said a tourist, requesting anonymity.
Since family members of those quarantined gathered outside the rehabilitation centre to protest, the district administration imposed Section 144 the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to maintain law and order.