IMPHAL: In the wake of the spurt in COVID-19 cases, the Manipur government has made the RT-PCR test mandatory at Imphal Airport for air passengers arriving from nine States. The nine states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
Passengers will be allowed to leave the airport only after the collection of samples and they will be instructed to undergo home/self-isolation till the test reports are communicated by the officials, said a notification. The step has been taken for the efficient conduct of COVID-19 tests after the State resumed testing of incoming air passengers from five States (Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, MP and Gujarat) from February 24 this year.
Since then, around 2,216 air passengers have been tested for COVID-19 at the airport and 35 of them were found to be positive.
Manipur had discontinued COVID-19 testing of incoming air passengers at the airport on December 18 last year following the decline in the number of air passengers testing positive for COVID-19. At the same time, the authorities also decided to close down six COVID Care Centres in five districts due to a drop in the number of active cases in the State. Manipur reported its first positive case on March 24 last year and the first death due to the infection on July 27, 2020. The last COVID-19 fatality in the State was reported on February 7 this year.
Meanwhile, the cumulative number of positive cases reached 29,415, while the total number of recoveries touched 28,981 on Saturday. Currently, the number of active cases in the State is 60 and the recovery rate is 98.52 per cent. (Agencies)
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