Following the Maharashtra Government’s decision to test passengers coming from states like Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Goa, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now appointed nodal officers to accommodate rapid antigen tests at every outstation railway station situated within Mumbai.
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The state’s circular mentions that travellers without a negative RT-PCR test report will be screened at the railway terminal. Those who do show symptoms upon screening will be tested using a rapid antigen test. These tests, unlike RT-PCR tests, can be done quickly with the result available in around 30 minutes or less.
The freshly appointed nodal officers and their respective teams will also be tasked with covering all the exits of the railway stations so that no passenger slips through the protocols. If the antigen test is found to be positive, they will be managed as per the state’s COVID-19 protocols.
However, in the event of a negative test result, the passenger(s) will be allowed to leave the railway station. Authorities will reportedly keep records of all symptomatic cases at each ward as per the state’s circular.
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Assistant Municipal Commissioners from A ward (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus), D ward (Mumbai Central), G North (Dadar), Ward L (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus), Ward H West (Bandra Terminus), and R Central Ward (Borivali Railway station) will coordinate the procedures with the nodal officers while also assisting with the checking of the RT-PCR reports submitted by arriving passengers.
“Assistant Commissioners shall get the detailed daily list of trains arriving at the stations from the respective states under reference and shall make arrangements for the expected load of passengers arriving in each train,” the circular read.
Further, the ward officers are also tasked with coordinating with private ICMR-authorized laboratories for the collection of the rapid antigen test samples while also handling ambulance facilities and finalizing the list of quarantine units for suspected patients at every ward.
The civic body also wrote to the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) asking the authorities to follow standard testing protocols for passengers arriving from highlighted states. Any person entering Mumbai airport from one of the marked states is expected to carry a negative RT-PCR test from no longer than 72 hours prior to their arrival. If they don’t have a report, the test will be conducted at the airport for a fee.
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