300 air passengers skip Covid-19 test at Silchar airport
Around 300 air passengers fled from Assam’s Silchar airport on Wednesday without taking the mandatory Covid-19 test. According to district officials, strict actions will be taken against the air passengers to set example for others regarding Covid-19 containment protocols.
The district administration has decided to lodge FIRs (first information reports) against all of them who skipped the mandatory Covid-19 testing under Section 180 of IPC and the disaster management act.
The RT-PCR test for air passengers of Silchar airport is being conducted at nearby Tikol model hospital. Additional deputy commissioner of Cachar district Sumit Sattavan said that the passengers are taken to the hospital by buses run by the local administration. He also mentioned that tracing the passengers will be easy as they have submitted their contact details.
The state has reported 1,665 cases in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 2.68 per cent.
State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said people travelling to the state from outside will have to undergo mandatory seven-day home quarantine in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases. However, government officials, those travelling for medical reasons, and people visiting the state in connection with bereavements will be exempted from it, he said.
- With PTI inputs
