Delhi makes negative COVID-19 test report mandatory for people coming from these 5 states

A car is sanitised at the entrance of a mall as part of a demonstrated sanitisation procedure by mall authorities ahead of its reopening during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi. (Representative image: Reuters)

All travellers from Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab will need a negative COVID-19 test report to enter Delhi from February 26 to March 15 in the wake of rising coronavirus cases in these states, reported news agency ANI.

The national capital recorded 145 fresh COVID-19 cases and two new fatalities on February 23, while the positivity rate stood at 0.25 percent, authorities said. With this, the toll from the coronavirus infection has reached 10,903.

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Earlier, the Karnataka government mandated a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours for those arriving in the state by flights, buses, trains and personal transport from Maharashtra, following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases there. The report shall be verified at the time of boarding by airline staff, a circular issued by the Additional Chief Secretary Department of Health and Family Welfare Jawaid Akhtar said.

The Maharashtra government has also made the RT-PCR test mandatory for travellers from Kerala, which has been reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases, to check the spread of the viral infection in the western state, according to an official.

The COVID-19 tally in Kerala reached 10,41,252 with 4,034 new cases reported on February 23. The death toll increased to 4,119 with 14 fresh fatalities. Health Minister KK Shailaja said 69,604 samples were tested in the state in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 5.80 percent.

Meanwhile, 4,823 people recovered from the infection on the day taking the total number of cured in the state to 9,81,835. Currently, there are 54,665 people under treatment in Kerala.