Coronavirus: Karnataka makes negative report mandatory for people coming from Maharashtra
Earlier this week, the state had made negative RT-PCR certificates must for passengers from Kerala, the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.
The Karnataka government on Saturday issued fresh coronavirus guidelines for people coming from Maharashtra, which has seen an increase in infections in the last few weeks, ANI reported. People coming from Maharashtra would now have to produce a negative RT-PCR certificate that should not be older than 72 hours.
“On an average, 4,000 to 5,000 cases are being reported in Kerala and 5,000 to 6,000 in Maharashtra daily,” Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar told ANI. “We share borders with them. So, we issued circulars. Unless we see RT-PCR negative certificates from those coming from these states, they won’t be permitted to enter Karnataka.”
Karnataka government issues a circular in view of rising cases of COVID-19 in neighbouring Maharashtra. "A negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours shall be compulsory for those arriving by flights/ buses/trains/personal transport," it reads. pic.twitter.com/ByAovm8YeB
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2021
On Friday alone, Maharashtra recorded 6,112 new infections, the highest in 83 days. While Mumbai reported the highest number of cases (823), neighbouring cities Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivli saw single-day spike of 800, 663 and 748 new cases, respectively.
In view of the rise in cases, Mumbai’s civic body the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has imposed some restrictions and guidelines, even though it has not planned on a lockdown yet. However, in other parts of the state, like Amravati and Akola, the authorities have announced weekend lockdowns, the Hindustan Times reported. A 10-day lockdown has been imposed in Yavatmal since Thursday.
Earlier this week, in view of the rising cases, the Karnataka government had made it mandatory for people coming from Kerala to produce a negative RT-PCR certificate. Those residing in hostels and colleges would not be allowed to have visitors or relatives without getting permission from the Covid-19 nodal officers, the government said. It also asked authorities to maintain a list of students travelling to and from Kerala.
The government also said that passengers arriving from the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa will have to bring a negative RT-PCR certificate.
Karnataka has so far reported 9,47,246 Covid-19 cases and its toll stood at 12,287, according to the Union health ministry. There are 5,901 active cases and 9,29,058 people have recovered from the infection.