BHUBANESWAR: AS Covid-19 cases continue to grow at an alarming rate, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday made RT-PCR negative report compulsory for passengers to deboard at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), to check spread of the infection effectively.
Issuing an order to this effect, the BMC stated that the guideline will come into effect from Tuesday. The report must be obtained within 72 hours of landing at the airport. Passengers, who have completed two doses of vaccination, may also produce the vaccination certificate in lieu of the RT-PCR negative report, the order stated.
The airlines concerned will have to ensure that no passengers board the flight without any of these two documents. “If a passenger lands at the airport without any of these two documents, legal action will be initiated against the airlines concerned,” an officer said and added that BMC has informed the BPIA Director in this regard.
The growing number of Covid-19 cases has become a major concern for the Capital city which saw 468 new cases in the last 24 hours. This includes 386 cases of local transmission. The city had reported 338 cases on Sunday morning.
Nayapalli reported the highest number of 27 cases, followed by 19 in Patia, 18 in Old Town, 16 in Sundarpada, 14 in Khandagiri and 13 in Chandrasekharpur. BMC officials said 123 patients recovered during the period. The city now has 2,827 active cases. Meanwhile, keeping in view the rising number of cases, the civic body has readied the Nilachal and Hi-Tech Covid Hospitals for admission of patients as and when required. Other dedicated covid hospitals including Blue Wheel, Sparsh and KIIMS will also be operationalised soon.