Maharashtra government on November 23 announced new guidelines for travellers entering the state from Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa via air, road or train.
If you are travelling by air, a Covid-19 negative RT-PCR report is a must. For trains originating from or stopping at any stations in Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan or Delhi, a Covid-19 report will be needed while alighting in Maharashtra. Even for travel by road, a Covid negative report will be sought.
“In exercise of the powers, conferred under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the undersigned, in his capacity as Chairperson, State Executive Committee, hereby issue orders to include the SOP as attached herewith as ANNEXURE-A for the persons travelling to Maharashtra by Air, Trains or Roads with effect from 25th November 2020, after careful consideration of planning of containment areas and availability of health infrastructure, for the strict implementation by the concerned authorities of all the departments in the State of Maharashtra. The said SOP will be in addition to the SOPs issued earlier by the State of Maharashtra,” reads the order signed by Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar.
In case of flights, the test has to be undertaken 72 hours before landing. For trains, the time is 96 hours and will apply to trains that halt or terminate in these states.
For those yet to take a test, airports will run test centres, where the passengers will mandatorily be tested at their own cost before they are allowed to proceed.
In case of road travel, passengers from the concerned states will be tested for symptoms including body. “Passengers without symptoms will be allowed entry. Passengers with symptoms shall have the option of turning back and go to their home to recuperate,” the notification read.
For trains, passengers who have not conducted RT-PCR tests will be tested for symptoms at stations when they get off. If they have any symptoms, they will have to undergo Rapid Antigen tests.