Maharashtra on Sunday declared six states as places of “sensitive origin” in its attempt to stop the influx of coronavirus variants, reported PTI.
These states are Kerala, Goa, Gujarat, Delhi and the National Capital Region, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, according to an order issued by Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte.
The order said that passengers travelling to Maharashtra from these states will need to carry a negative RT-PCR report of the test conducted within 48 hours of their train travel. If the passengers are not carrying an RT-PCR report, they will undergo a rapid antigen test at the station, it said.
“These places will be considered as the places of sensitive origin from the date of this order till the time it is retracted or till Covid-19 stays notified as a disaster,” the order said.
The Maharashtra government also issued standard operating procedures for passengers from these six states. For passengers travelling in long-distance trains from these states, the Railways will share data of the trains that are scheduled to be running between these places and stations in Maharashtra with the local disaster management authorities, according to the SOPs.
Further, the data of passengers travelling will be shared with the local disaster management authority each day four hours before the departure of the trains. No unreserved tickets will be issued from these places to Maharashtra, it said.
The Railways should ensure trains from the places of sensitive origin come to the outer platforms where it would be easier to conduct thermal screening of the passengers, the order said.
Maharashtra is the worst-affected state by the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, the state reported its highest-ever infection count of 68,631 new Covid-19 cases. With this, the infection tally in the state climbed to 38,39,338 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The toll rose by 503 to 60,473.
Delhi too registered its highest one-day rise in Covid-19 cases, logging 25,462 new infections that took the tally to 8,53,460. The toll climbed to 12,121 after 161 patients died. The positivity rate in the national Capital stood at 29.74%.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!