Travellers from Kerala coming into Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts will have to carry a negative RT-PCR report, officials in the two districts reiterated on Tuesday.  On Monday, the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra stated that those travelling to the district from Kerala will have to compulsorily carry a COVID-19 negative certificate. According to the DC, the test positivity rate in Dakshina Kannada is around 5% and in Kasargod, it is around 10 %.

On Tuesday, a local resident in Talapady, a border check post in Dakshina Kannada district, said that checks were being carried out at the border for negative RT-PCR certificates. The resident said that the checks were being conducted on selected vehicles crossing the border and not every vehicle.

In the neighboring Kodagu district, Virajpet tehsildar R Yoganand said that a COVID-19 negative certificate is needed to cross the border via Kutta or Makutta in the district. The tehsildar said that since Monday, rapid antigen test (RAT) tests were being carried out at the checkposts. "We have increased the surveillance due to the delta variant of the virus and any traveller coming to the district from Kerala should carry a negative RT-PCR certificate," said Yoganand.

The Mysuru district administration also said that travellers coming to the district from Kerala will have to carry a negative RT-PCR certificate.

A COVID-19 negative certificate has been a requirement to cross the border since March 2021 however stringent checks were not done at the border and those without negative certificates could still enter the state.

This includes the Talapady border checkpost 22 km south of Mangaluru where thousands of people cross over into Karnataka from Kerala's Kasaragod district every day.

Rashid Mohiuddin, a resident of Kasargod, said that there are hundreds of students who attend colleges in Mangaluru. "The Dakshina Kannada district administration should not stop the students from entering the district when colleges reopen. As of now, we have not been told that people are being stopped at the border," he said.