In a bid to bypass the negative Covid-19 certificate mandate in Karnataka many travelers from Kerala and Maharashtra have been entering the state through Goa.
As per reports by TOI, people entering Karnataka from Goa which shares its border with the southern state are not bound by restrictions.
After making the negative Covid-19 certificate mandatory, the Karnataka government had stepped up vigilance at checkpoints near borders with Maharashtra and Kerala. However, since there are no restrictions on people coming from Goa, some passengers have been using this to circumvent covid related protocols including the covid test.
Talking to TOI, Salim a cab driver revealed that his car agency has been recently witnessing increased booking from Goa. He also said that many from Maharashtra and Kerala are flying to Goa and taking taxis from there to enter Karnataka.
Upon discovering this flouting of Covid rules undertaken by passengers, Dr. K V Trilok Chandra, commissioner of the health and family welfare department said that they are in talks with the district authorities to set up checkpoints on the border with Goa. He also assured that checks will be conducted to weed out passengers who do not have negative RT-PCR test reports.
Health minister K Sudhakar on Friday said travelers will be tested a week after arriving in the city and it will be compulsory only for those staying here more than a week, not for those on shorter visits.
To date, over 9.75 lakh people have tested positive for coronavirus while the cumulative fatality count is 12,461. As many as 12,341 more people contracted the infection in the past week since March 17.
According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, 7851 of these cases were reported from Bengaluru Urban alone. Meanwhile, 54 more people succumbed to the infection across the state of which 33 were from the capital city alone.