Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said on Thursday that about 2,000 Indians stranded abroad are expected to return here once the lockdown is lifted on May 3.

In a statement issued here, she said a meeting was held last evening chaired by District In-charge Minister Kota Srinivasa Poojary to review the lock-down situation and detailed guidelines are being worked out in consultation with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here on how private medical practitioners should help the district administration in containing COVID-19.

Referring to the arrival of persons stranded abroad, Mr Poojary said that passengers hailing from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi can be quarantined in Mangaluru, while other passengers, after the screening, can be sent to their respective places for quarantine.

Ms Rupesh said that the district administration needs four more days to send workers from North Karnataka back to their hometowns on special buses. About 4,000 workers from North Karnataka have been sent back from the district so far. A majority of them remaining to be sent back are in Mangaluru taluk. Buses are arranged from the places where workers are staying.

A majority of these workers are from Bagalkote district. Each bus will carry about 22 workers and they will be allowed to board only after a medical check-up. Their details are being sent to the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts.