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COVID-19: Maharashtra Govt Discussing Terms to Exempt Vaccinated People From Showing Negative Test Result on Arrival


COVID-19: Maharashtra Govt Discussing Terms to Exempt Vaccinated People From Showing Negative Test Result on Arrival
SHARES

There have been discussions within the Maharashtra Government on whether to offer an exemption to vaccinated individuals from the mandatory RT-PCR test or a negative test report on arrival in the state. 

Principal Secretary of the Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Aseem Gupta said while speaking to TOI that they are currently discussing the matter with the State Government, adding that talks are at an “early phase”, suggesting that an answer won’t arrive anytime soon. 

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“We have already done away with the requirement of showing a negative RT-PCR report for travel within the state. However, the requirement of showing a negative RT-PCR test still holds if travellers are coming to Maharashtra from other states. A decision on exemption of vaccinated travellers from this rule cannot be taken in haste and will need due deliberations,” Gupta said. 

A senior bureaucrat quoted by TOI mentioned that the policy to mandate a negative RT-PCR test result from the passengers is related to the state’s “sensitive origin order”. 

People arriving in Maharashtra from states like Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and NCR, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh belong to this group.

“Any exemption to the vaccinated travellers will also require modifications in the ‘sensitive origin’ order,” the bureaucrat added. Punjab and Chandigarh recently announced that travellers arriving there will not require a negative RT-PCR test result as long as they have received at least one dose of the approved COVID-19 vaccine. 

This has led the travel industry and its stakeholders to seek similar concessions in the state of Maharashtra. 

The owner of a travel and tourism company, Nikhil Thakurdas said, “By the middle of July, the state will have a large number of fully vaccinated people in the 45+ category. There should be some recognition of this fact by exempting such citizens from the RT-PCR requirement.”

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