Air passengers from eight states to undergo Covid-19 tests on arrival in Manipur

The eight states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana. Passengers will be allowed to leave after the collection of samples and will have to remain in isolation until they get their reports

Air passengers arriving in Manipur from eight states of the country will have to undergo RT-PCR test for Covid-19 at the Bir Tikendrajit International airport from Friday, state health officials said.

Representational Image. (HT file photo)

The eight states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.

“Passengers will be allowed to leave the airport after the collection of samples and will have to be in isolation until the reports are communicated to them,” says K Rajo Singh, director, state health services, in a notification dated March 18.

To be sure, Manipur had discontinued Covid-19 testing of incoming air passengers at the airport from December 18 last year. Authorities also decided to close six Covid Care Centres in five districts with the state’s active cases declining steadily.

However, it resumed testing of incoming air passengers from Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, MP, and Gujarat from February 24. Since then, around 886 passengers were tested at the airport of which five tested positive.

As of Thursday, a total of 611,290 persons were screened at various entry points of the state, while 566,178 individuals were tested for Covid-19 in Manipur.