Published 21:53 IST, February 22nd 2021
Gujarat, MP and Karnataka begin screening travellers from Maharashtra amid COVID spike
As Maharashtra's COVID cases spike daily, three neighbouring states - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka on Monday, have decided to screen Maha arrivals
As Maharashtra's COVID cases spike daily, three neighbouring states - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Karnataka on Monday, have decided to set up check posts at border districts to screen people entering their state from Maharashtra. Karnataka has gone one step further and mandated RT-PCR negative tests from those travelling from Maharashtra to Karnataka. Maharashtra reported 5,210 fresh COVID-19 infections on Monday, after logging over 6,000 cases for three days in a row.
Maharashtra's border states begin screening
The Gujarat government has set up check posts at the borders of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to screen people entering the state from these states for COVID-19 symptoms. MP has asked collectors of Bhopal, Indore, Hoshangabad, Betul, Siwni, Chhindwara, Balaghat, Barwani, Khandwa, Khargone, Burhanpur, Alirajpur & districts bordering Maharashtra to begin screening travellers from Maharashtra. Karnataka has mandated a negative RT-PCR certificate not older than 72 hours for those arriving by flights, buses, trains, personal transport from Maharashtra an Kerala. The LDF govt has raised objections to the restrictions in Karnataka with the Centre.
Moreover, it has issued strict guidelines for Hostels and Colleges, employees, hotels, resorts, apartments and all residential facilities (for Maha and Kerala):
- Students from Maharashtra must compulsorily produce negative RT-PCR test - irrespective of hostellers or day scholars
- No visitors are allowed
- All those who arrived from Maharashtra for the past two weeks will be compulsorily tested
- Employees from Maharashtra should get tested at their own cost
- These guidelines are applicable in colleges, hotels, resorts, apartments and all residential facilities in Bengaluru
Maha CM: 'Wear mask, avoid lockdown'
On Sunday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray warned citizens to wear masks and observe social distancing, else face lockdown, in a Facebook Live session. Announcing a ban of religious, political, social gatherings in the state, Thackeray said that he will monitor the situation for 8-15 days and decide on a lockdown. He also said that several parts of Maharashtra like Amaravati, Yavatmal will be put under restrictions starting from Monday.
The state of Maharashtra has been witnessing a severe surge of cases with several districts including Mumbai facing the threat of another lockdown. Mumbai has also been a witness to the major spurt of COVID-19 reporting 897 new cases in a day. Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Body (BMC) have warned that the next 15 days are crucial for Mumbai with the active cases increasing by nearly 29% in the state. The Centre has observed that the two states account for 77% of total Covid-19 active cases in the country, and has asked the respective state governments to ramp up their efforts in place for overall testing.
Updated 21:53 IST, February 22nd 2021