Assam government is not accepting covid-19 test report of other states, air travellers are facing problems
Covid-19 test is being done on the arrival of passengers of flights coming from other states in Assam. The state government is not accepting the covid test report of other states before boarding the flight. Due to this, passengers are also facing trouble.
If passengers of flights coming from another state in Assam refuse to test in their states before boarding, then it can lead to ‘super spreader’ of covid-19 in the state. Last week, the state Health Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma refused to accept the tests from other states and said that it would be mandatory for all air travelers to undergo a Covid test after their arrival in Assam.
On Wednesday, 62 passengers were found corona infected while testing covid at Guwahati airport in a single day. According to Airports Authority of India sources, many of these infected persons did not undergo the test before boarding the flight as they would have to undergo the test again after reaching Assam.
More number of infected people coming from metros
A senior government official at Guwahati airport said that most of the Covid-positive passengers have come from Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, creating a situation highly sensitive to the second wave. Keeping in mind the number of positive cases upon arrival in the state, he said that there is a high probability that the virus is spreading to more passengers inside the aircraft.
RT-PCR test may increase the number of infected
The health minister on Thursday expressed concern after 62 passengers were found to be covid positive in the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and said that these numbers may increase after the RT-PCR test report.
Last week, Sarma had said that Covid tests from other states will not be accepted and all air and rail passengers will have to undergo a covid test when they arrive in Assam. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, he again appealed on Twitter and said “all the passengers coming to Assam are requested to get their Covid testing done before boarding the flight.”
First negative RT-PCR report was made mandatory
In early April, it was ordered that passengers arriving from Mumbai or Bangalore must compulsorily carry a negative RT-PCR report within 72 hours of landing at Assam airport. The order, issued by the state health department, came into force from 9 April but the report was not being accepted immediately after the health minister’s announcement last week, when some passengers decided to fly without a test. It is expected that the 7-day home quarantine rule by the Government of Assam will help in controlling the number of covid infections in the state.
