The Centre on Wednesday opposed Maharashtra's mandatory RT-PCR negative report for international arrivals from all countries and not just 'at-risk' countries. Tests will be conducted at the Mumbai airport for international travelers irrespective of the country of origin. The Centre claims that this goes against guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra government, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: "This is in divergence with the SoPs and the guidelines issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of lndia".
Here's all you need to know.
- For international passengers with connecting flights to any other airport in India, an RT-PCR test at the first arrival airport in Maharashtra will be mandatory.
- All international passengers must return a negative result to leave the Mumbai airport, and then undergo 14 days of home quarantine. The origin countries of these passengers don't matter, which means passengers from countries apart from "at-risk", will also have to undergo this.
- Maharashtra has mandated seven-day institutional quarantine for travelers arriving in the state from 'at-risk' countries.
- According to an updated list, the countries designated as 'at-risk' are the European countries, the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.
- The Central government has asked the Maharashtra government to align the orders issued by the state with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, so that uniform implementation of the guidelines may be ensured across all states and UTs.
- The Maharashtra government has taken the measures amid the looming threat of the new Covid variant Omicron which has been detected in many countries.
- Passengers from at-risk countries will also undergo RT-PCR tests on the second, fourth, and seventh day of arrival, the authority said in its latest guidelines. If a passenger is found to be positive, he or she will be shifted to a hospital.
- The development came when six passengers, who arrived in Maharashtra from South Africa and other high-risk countries, tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
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