COVID negative test reports to be the entry ticket for ‘Kumbh Mela’, says Uk government

Uttarakhand: After 32 people tested positive for Covid-19 at an ashram, the Uk government has decided to issue a modified standard operation procedure (SOP) for 2021 Haridwar Kumbh Mela. On April 1, the modified SOP for Kumbh Mela will be issued.

“From April 1-30, SOPs will have to be followed strictly. Documents will be verified at entry points for outsiders. No such requirement is needed for locals,” a senior police officer said.

The local administration closed Hotel Taj in Rishikesh for 3 days after 76 people tested positive for Covid-19, on March 28. Tehri Garhwal SSP Tripti Bhatt said that Taj was sanitized and closed as a precautionary measure.

One area each in Dehradun City and Rishikesh was declared as containment zone by the district administration.

Seeing the ascending graphs of Covid-19 positive cases, the Uttarakhand government has made it compulsory for all visitors commuting from 12 states (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana) to show negative RT-PCR test reports on arrival. These negative reports shouldn’t be older than 72 hours.

Defaulters will be punishable under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Epidemics Act, 1897, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

People above 65 years of age, those with co-morbidities, children below 10 and pregnant women are advised by the state government to travel only in unavoidable circumstances.

There will be no restriction on intra-state and inter-state movement of goods and essential services, the advisory stated.