Maharashtra scraps RT-PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers

Puri, July 15: All domestic and international passengers fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with vaccine certificate showing at least 15 days since taking the second dose will now be exempted from carrying negative RT-PCR reports when they enter Maharashtra the state government said on Thursday.

The government in its latest guidelines said,''Persons who've been vaccinated with both doses of COVID vaccine & are in possession of final vaccination certificate, are exempted from requirement of a negative RT-PCR report on their entry into the State. Exemption applicable for domestic & int'l passengers.''

Until now, a negative RT-PCR test report was mandatory for anyone to enter Maharashtra. This test had to be taken 48 hours prior to the travel.

On Tuesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had requested the Maharashtra government to exempt the RT-PCR negative test report stipulation for passengers arriving in the metropolis from within the country if they are fully vaccinated, an official said.

He said BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal had written a letter detailing this request to the state government, which is expected to take a call on it soon.

The civic body had made a RT-PCR negative report of a test carried out within 48 hours of commencing the journey towards the metropolis mandatory in May this year, he said.

While it was at first applicable to those coming in from Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kerala, all of which had high infection counts at the time, the rule gradually was extended to cover all passengers irrespective of the origin state, the official added.

Chahal, in his letter, said several people were traveling for business purposes to Delhi and other areas and returning on the same day, and in such cases getting a RT-PCR test report in a short span of time was becoming impossible.

The letter said the COVID-19 vaccination drive was underway across the country and many citizens, who are fully vaccinated, have been requesting that the RT-PCR negative test report norm be waived off.