People returning home from other states were sent to “home quarantine” on Tuesday, prompting doctors to point out that it was not the “best procedure” to follow, after which the Darjeeling district administration said all inbound travellers would have to undergo institutional quarantine and Covid-19 tests even if they were asymptomatic.

On Tuesday, 300 people had returned from Sikkim and over 150 of them were from the GTA area. After initial screening at Rangpo, they were sent to “home quarantine”.

A post by a leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Binay Tamang camp in the party’s WhatsApp group on Tuesday night said 10 people had arrived from Chennai. While three of the 10 are from Bijanbari and Sukhiapokhari, four belong to Singamari.

Doctors in Darjeeling told The Telegraph that sending the returnees to the home quarantine was not the right procedure. “We need to save ourselves. They should have been put up in institutional quarantine and after throat swab tests, they can be sent for home quarantine if the results are negative,” said a doctor who didn’t want to be named.

Another senior doctor seconded the opinion and said “the history of the patient” should also be carefully tracked.

Pralay Acharya, chief medical officer of health, Darjeeling, however, said on Wednesday evening that all inbound travellers to the district would be sent to institutional quarantine where their throat swabs would be collected for Covid-19 tests.

“Throat swabs will be taken at quarantine centres and if the results come negative, they will be sent for home quarantine,” said Acharya.

The health official said the swab results would be available within “a maximum of 24 to 48 hours”.

Binny Sharma, chief co-ordinator of the GTA help-desk, said seven people — one each from Bijanbari, Nirpani, Mungpoo and Rambi — and three from Kalimpong had arrived from New Delhi on Wednesday.

“They have been sent to quarantine centres in their respective areas. Tests will be conducted on them,” said Sharma who added that three more helpdesks would be set up at Simulbari.

The GTA has also decided to lay stress on local surveillance. “Locals would best know who is arriving from which place. An in-charge was appointed in each of the 45 GTA constituencies today (Wednesday). They will work in tandem with local samaj, police and ground level health staffs.”

Those who have arrived over the past few days will also be monitored by this committee, said a GTA source. An additional 150 people also arrived from Sikkim on Wednesday but they were sent for “home quarantine” as Sikkim is still a green zone, said the GTA official.

“We are also encouraging people to inform us about their travel plans so that we can track their routes. The information can be provided online,” said a GTA source.

A GTA report has stated that 567 people are in self quarantine in Darjeeling district (GTA area), while the number is 437 in Kalimpong district. Five people are presently admitted to Desun Hospital (a pre–Covid hospital), while no one has been admitted to Dr Chhang’s Super Specialty Hospital, which is a dedicated Covid-19 hospital.