RT-PCR report must for people travelling from Kerala, says Tamil Nadu

The guidelines come in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in Kerala. The state recorded more than 20,000 fresh infections of coronavirus for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday.

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday ordered a mandatory RT-PCR test report for people coming from Kerala from August 5, news agency PTI reported citing state's health minister Ma Subramanian.

A healthcare worker collects the swab sample of a security personnel for the RT-PCR test during Covid-19 screening, in Chennai on Friday. (ANI Photo)

The notice from Tamil Nadu comes a day after the Karnataka government announced a special surveillance measure, making a negative RT-PCR certificate for people arriving in the state from Kerala and Maharashtra mandatory in the view of Covid-19 situation. Karnataka government said in a circular that the negative Covid report should not be older than 72 hours irrespective of the vaccination status.

Tamil Nadu's guideline also comes in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in Kerala. The state recorded more than 20,000 fresh infections of coronavirus for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday. However, it saw a decline in fatalities and a fall in the positivity rate to 12.31 per cent.

A Covid-19 infection hotspot, Kerala is still reporting a high caseload and also the highest number of fresh infections every day. The state health minister Veena George said on Saturday Kerala is not yet free from the second wave of Covid-19. George asked people to be extra cautious and vigilant against transmission of the infection to prevent a third wave from occurring. At the time India has managed to control the second wave in the majority of states and continues to report less than 50,000 cases for over a month, the daily infections in Kerala continue to spike.

Half of Kerala's population is susceptible to the virus, underlining the need in the state to exercise Covid-19 safety protocols. Precautions have to be taken as the presence of the highly contagious Delta variant has been detected, health minister George said at a special meeting held to review the state's preparedness to handle a likely third wave.

People need to take precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing and isolation till a majority of the population is vaccinated, George said. If a third wave hits Kerala before everyone is vaccinated, the severity of the infection and those requiring hospitalisation would be high, the health minister said.