State Health Department has proposed to the Disaster Management Division to consider doing away with the prerequisite of mandatory RTPCR tests for fully-vaccinated interstate air travellers and those unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated passengers who do not have any symptoms of Covid-19 in the wake of a communique from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
A letter addressed by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Singh to the Disaster Management Division of Home, Jail and Disaster Management Department further stated that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has come up with an advisory stating that mandatory RTPCR tests for healthy individuals undertaking interstate travel may be completely removed to reduce the load on laboratories conducting Covid-19 tests.
“To ease the pressure of testing at Ranchi Airport, it is proposed to take a decision that those who have been vaccinated with both doses of Covid-19 vaccine and 15 days have lapsed since the administration of the second dose of the vaccine and are in possession of the final vaccination certificate issued through the Co-Win portal be exempted from any additional tests for Covid-19 on their entry into the state,” the letter read.
As per the letter, it is proposed that those passengers who have existing symptoms of the disease and also fail thermal scanning shall mandatorily undergo RTPCR test upon their arrival at the Ranchi airport. Besides, such passengers who have either been partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all may undergo Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at the airport if they fail thermal scanning even if they do not suffer from any visible symptoms of the viral infection, the letter further stated.
At present, it is compulsory for interstate passengers to carry a negative report of an RTPCR test conducted not more than 72 hours prior to the time of departure from other states to Ranchi. The letter from the additional chief secretary (health) mentioned that the matter of changing the current mandates for air travellers needed “expeditious consideration.”
However, an official in the Department of Home, Jail and Disaster Management said that the department was yet to issue any official notification regarding any changes on the protocol for interstate travellers. A decision will be taken after thoroughly studying the current situation and the risks involved in providing any relaxation, he added. As per government data, there were hardly 137 active cases of Covid-19 in the state on Thursday morning and the positivity rate in the state has been lower than 0.1 per cent throughout the month of August.