Punjab makes full COVID vaccination or RT-PCR negative report mandatory to enter state

Amid the rising fear of a third COVID-19 wave in the country, the Punjab government has decided to tighten restrictions on the interstate movement. On Saturday, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh announced that RT-PCR negative test report or both doses of COVID-19 vaccination would be made mandatory from August 16 to enter Punjab. In the latest guidelines, strict checking will be done on people visiting the state from Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. The decision comes after the state observed a sudden rise in the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the last week. Several reports also suggest a massive spread of COVID-19 cases in the schools. To ensure the protection of children, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh emphasised that only fully vaccinated teaching and non-teaching staff, or those recently recovered from COVID, should physically teach in schools and colleges, with an online learning option to remain available to all children. In line with our aggressive precautionary measures to safeguard from a possible third #Covid19 wave, have directed the Health Department to further augment daily testing. People travelling to punjab will have to carry a negative report or undergo testing on arrival. pic.twitter.com/iLEczTlHxw — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) August 14, 2021 He also directed that teachers and non-teaching employees be given priority for vaccination, with special camps being run to guarantee that everyone gets the first dosage this month and that those due for the second dose be also given priority. Earlier, the Minister of State for Health, Balbir Singh Sidhu has also advised on the same lines. He had further asked the CM to narrow the interval between the two doses and prioritising the second dose for teachers and other school staff. Special caution for travellers from Himachal & other states with high positivity The directions were issued during a Covid review meeting hosted by Captain Amarinder Singh, who raised concern over the positivity in Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the country, which has caused positivity in Punjab to rise marginally to 0.2% in the last week, with RO rising to 1.05 per cent. He also quoted a Cambridge study, which says cases are expected to increase in the next 64 days. 10,000 daily tests should be conducted across schools: Chief Sec Mahajan Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on August 11 directed the concerned authorities to ramp up testing across the state. In her order, she had particularly stressed upon conducting a large number of RT-PCR tests in schools on daily basis. In the COVID-19 review meeting, she asked the authorities from the health and education department to ensure that at least 10,000 daily tests are conducted across schools in order to trace infection early for mitigating the spread of the virus among children. She also directed that a target of 40,000 RT-PCR test samples per day must be achieved and testing shall be further increased if COVID cases rise. COVID-19 situation in Punjab Punjab recorded 35 new cases of COVID -19 and 0 death in the last 24 hours, as reported by the health ministry. The cases have shown a dip, after surging 50% last week. The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 568 with 16334 people losing their lives to the deadly virus. Image Credit: ANI

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Punjab makes full COVID vaccination or RT-PCR negative report mandatory to enter state

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh announced that RT-PCR negative test report or both doses of COVID-19 vaccination will be made mandatory to enter state from August 16.

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