Mysuru, Dec 9 (IANS): As many as 23 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Tibetan Lama Camp in Bylakuppe in Mysuru district in the last 24 hours. The residential camp has been sealed and all the Covid positive patients have been isolated.

Health Officer Dr Sharath visited the Tibetan camp to take stock of the situation. Directions have been given for the officers at the settlement to initiate further precautions to contain the spread of the Coronavirus in the camp.

Bylakuppe is the second largest Tibetan settlement in the world outside Tibet after Dharamshala. It is located 80 kilometers away from Mysuru city. The settlement has a number of monasteries and temples in all the major Tibetan Buddhist traditions which attract a large number of tourists across India. Authorities are on high alert following the outbreak of Covid.

Further to avoid the risk of Covid infection, instructions have been given to health officers to conduct RT-PCR tests on those who return from Sabarimala trip in Kerala, especially in villages of Mysuru district. The officers are also directed to monitor those persons for 10 days as the Covid infection rate is still high in Kerala.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government issued another circular on Wednesday making it mandatory for international arrivals from high risk countries to get the RT-PCR test done in the premises of the KempeGowda International Airport (KIAL), Mangaluru International Airport and and other airports of the state. It had been announced earlier and strict vigilance is being monitored at all airports in the wake of detection of the Omicron variant.