The West Bengal government on Friday made it mandatory for air passengers coming from five states to present a negative RT-PCR test for coronavirus, ANI reported. The new rule will be applicable from April 26.
The state government has informed the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation that passengers travelling from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh will have to show reports not older than 72 hours.
In February, West Bengal had imposed a similar rule for passengers from the states of Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka, the Hindustan Times reported. Travellers from a total nine states will now have to show the report on reaching West Bengal.
Earlier on Friday, the state’s home secretary held a meeting with focus on oxygen and supply chain management, ANI reported. On Friday, West Bengal registered 12,876 new cases of coronavirus, while 59 people died in 24 hours, according to the Hindustan Times. On Thursday, the state had reported 11,948 new cases.
India on Friday registered another global high of 3,32,730 coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 1,62,63,695 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The country also registered its highest toll at 2,263. With this, the total number of fatalities climbed to 1,86,920.
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