As a second wave of the pandemic sweeps over the country and state governments scramble to put in place measures to curb the spread, stringent restrictions on domestic travel have made a return. Gujarat has joined the list of states in India requiring their COVID-19 negative test report from anywhere in the country.
Visitors need to furnish the report on arrival into the state as well as before boarding their flights in the states they may be flying from, with airlines being directed to ensure the latter.
Notably, in the last few days, several passengers arriving into Gujarat without a negative RT-PCR report have had to provide test samples prior to leaving the airport premises.
The Health Department's latest ruling makes it mandatory to carry a negative test report not older than 72 hours. The notification has directed all airlines to ask for the report before departure itself.
Failing to produce the report would mean passengers will have to undergo a test at the airport itself (paid for by themselves) and wait for the report before proceeding further into Gujarat. Ahmedabad residents apparently don't need an RT-PCR test report to return to the city, but do confirm for the latest update before you travel.
That's not all&mdashaccording to some reports, airlines have also been directed to prepare travellers to undergo testing at the airport (again, self-financed) before departure.
On April 6, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also announced a night curfew in 20 of the state's cities for the rest of this month. Maharashtra, which had enforced state-wide night curfews a little while back, recently also put in place weekend lockdowns until April 30.