Following the Maharashtra government’s decision to compulsorily screen passengers coming from Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is in charge of health city public, will begin to evaluate the passengers of the trains of the external stations by location. Testing for Covid-19 symptoms at major train stations starting Wednesday. Those showing symptoms will be evaluated using rapid antigen kits.
Passengers traveling on trains from these destinations on trains will be required to submit a negative report, obtained 96 hours prior to travel upon arrival. In case a passenger does not have a test report, he will be examined and tested with antigen kits, if found symptomatic.
If positive, travelers will be admitted to a Covid Care Center, but will have to bear the cost of treatment themselves.
BMC officials have informed all lounges that are on alert at major stations such as Borivli, Andheri, Bandra Terminus, Dadar, Central Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT and Kurla, where the entrance trains arrive at the stations) .
Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, said: “We already have inspection camps at the airport and train stations. We will also organize antigen kit testing at train stations. However, passengers will also be referred to laboratories, in case of overcrowding at train stations ”.
Dr Siddarth Paliwal, the city’s general practitioner, said: “Screening all passengers will be a difficult task at train stations, but I think instead of going ahead with antigen kits, we should aim for testing RT-PCR. As the chances of positivity are greater for RT-PCR, we will be able to detect the maximum number of cases “.
In light of the increase in Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra government also announced on Monday certain restrictions and guidelines that all citizens must follow. Under the guidelines, passengers traveling on flights from Delhi, Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat will have to produce a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) report upon landing at Maharashtra airports. The test should have been done 72 hours before the scheduled trip.
Meanwhile, BMC also wrote to Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) on Monday asking it to follow protocols issued by the state government. The guidelines issued by the state government on air travel include a person having a negative RT-PCR test result in the last 72 hours. If travelers do not have a report, they can also opt for specific tests.
In addition, people traveling by road to Maharashtra will be required to undergo checks at border checkpoints. Those with symptoms should undergo an antigen test.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the city reported 939 cases, bringing its count to 277,453. The figure has reached 10,708 after 19 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Tuesday. A total of 252,688 patients have been discharged after Covid-19 treatment in the city, bringing the recovery rate to 91.07%. There are 13,265 active cases in Mumbai and the mortality rate is 3.85%. One hot spot that has shown signs of drastic improvement, Dharavi, recorded just two cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, after which his count reached 3,656. Of these, 3,331 people have been discharged. Mumbai has so far tested 17.85 lakh and has a positivity rate of 15.44%.
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