With the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across India, nearly all states are implementing precautionary measures such as night curfews, ban on public gatherings, restricting visits to malls and restaurants, etc. Many are imposing rules governing the entry of out of state visitors, including asking for negative COVID-19 test reports or on site checking of arriving passengers at airports, railway stations and road borders.
On April 11, Himachal Pradesh said that starting April 16, people coming from the most affected states &ndash Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh &ndash must carry an RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours of entry.
Maharashtra, the worst affected state so far, according to media reports, have banned people from visiting the beaches (till April end, as of now), imposed weekend lockdowns, and night curfews between 8pm and 7am.
Delhi has implemented daily night curfew between 10pm and 5am. According to a recent order, restaurants, movie theatres, and public transport facilities have been asked to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Also travellers from states with a heavy load of COVID positive patients may be subjected to random tests on arrival at all points.
Other states that have imposed night curfews are Gujarat (8pm to 6am in 20 cities), Punjab, Rajasthan (9pm to 5am in 10 cities), Uttar Pradesh (10pm to 5am in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad), Karnataka (Bengaluru and six other cities between 10pm and 5am). Chandigarh is also following a night curfew schedule between 10pm and 5am.
In Chhattisgarh, total lockdown has been imposed in capital Raipur till April 17 while night curfew has been extended over all the urban centres in the state.
In Madhya Pradesh, all urban areas will be under lockdown between 6pm on Friday and 6am on Monday while complete lockdown till April 16 has been declared in Chhindwara and till April 17 in Ratlam, Betul, Katni and Khargone.
Several states have asked visitors to register on a prescribed app as well as mandatorily download the Arogya Setu app. Passengers flying to Andhra Pradesh have been asked to register on the Spandana website. If you are flying to Chandigarh, you must be registered on the COVA Punjab app.
Jammu and Kashmir has said that an RT-PCR test is mandatory for all passengers arriving in the state.
Those travelling to Kerala have to obtain an e-pass, which can be obtained by registering on the state&rsquos COVID-19 portal. While all arriving passengers will have to undergo home quarantine for 14 days, people coming to the state on business, medical exigencies or for court cases will be exempted from quarantine subject certain regulations &ndash can stay up to seven days if they have an e-pass and have furnished details of their itinerary, local accommodation and a contact person.
Note Since states are implementing regulations at their own discretion, also local administrations may implement rules depending on the ground situation, it is advisable to check the latest rules before embarking on a journey. Even the Indian Railways have also issued a notice recently urging passengers to be aware of the state-wise guidelines.