The Health Ministry, in its revised ‘Guidelines for domestic travel (flight/train/ship/ bus inter-state travel)’ issued to States and Union Territories on Wednesday, has said that there shall be no restrictions on inter-State travel by air, rail, water, or road.
The revised guidelines, according to the Ministry, has been issued following a “declining trajectory of COVID cases across the country after a peak in reported cases during mid-May as part of the second wave”.
“...To facilitate inter-State travel, while observing required precautions, the guidelines for domestic travel (flight/train/ship/bus inter-state travel) are revised so as to have a uniform protocol for domestic travel across the country,” said the Ministry.
It added that in case RT-PCR or RAT tests are required prior to entry into a State, as notified by the State government, it must be publicised widely to maximise traveller convenience. As per the revised guidelines, asymptomatic persons who have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 15 days having elapsed since the administration of the second dose, and are in possession of the final vaccination certificate issued through the COWIN portal, may be exempted from mandatory requirement of possessing a negative RT-PCR report or RAT test on their entry into a State.
It added that previously States were allowed to develop their own protocols with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment of the local COVID-19 situation.
According to the revised guidelines, passengers who are found symptomatic on arrival shall be subjected to Rapid Antigen Test at the Terminal to aid early identification. “In the event of an unusual surge in cases in any State/UT, the States/UTs may institute appropriate public health measures promptly and States may implement additional restrictions, based on local requirements,” the Ministry added.
Meanwhile the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday with all States and Union Territories and said that 50% of the fund of COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II (ECRP-II package) has already been disbursed to stakeholders by the Central government.
The Health Ministry advised States and Union Territories to process procurement and supply orders immediately. “This is to ensure that they procure equipment, machinery, beds, drugs, etc. under the time-bound ECRP-II package. States were requested to make month-wise expenditure plan and oversee corresponding physical progress on the ground,” said the Mr. Bushan.
At the meeting, the policy of maintaining adequate buffer stock of medicines used in treating COVID-19 was also reviewed and it was stated that States could procure and maintain a buffer stock of medicines they deem necessary, other than the eight essential COVID-19 drugs compulsorily mandated by the Union Health Ministry.
Union Pharma Secretary S. Aparna, who also participated in the meeting, alerted the States that most of these medicines could be supplied for use only two to four weeks post production (when the batch undergoes necessary quality testing), which called for advance planning for their procurement. Encouraging the States to stock up early when cases were few and therefore demand was low, she advised procurement in a staggered manner so that the logistics of production were not overwhelmed.
Mr. Bhushan cautioned the States regarding a spike/surge in cases during the upcoming festival season and advised them to undertake all possible public health measures.
