PremiumThe Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR’s) advisory to do away with the need for RT-PCR testing for inter-state travel has evoked mixed reaction from the travel industry, especially as most states have different norms, which may cause confusion among travellers
The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR’s) advisory to do away with the need for RT-PCR testing for inter-state travel has evoked mixed reaction from the travel industry, especially as most states have different norms, which may cause confusion among travellers.
The country’s apex bio-medical research agency had issued the advisory on Tuesday to reduce the load on diagnostic laboratories testing for covid-19 after the sharp surge seen in infections led to delays in testing.
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Premium Premium Most state governments still require a negative RT-PCR report from travellers entering their states, a senior airline official with a no-frill carrier said.
“Unless states are on board with the plan, this will only create confusion among passengers and could further discourage passengers from booking flight tickets," the official said on condition of anonymity. “You can’t have different directives from the ICMR and states. The states and ICMR should work together for this," the official said.
The West Bengal government had on Tuesday itself issued a directive stating that all flight passengers coming from other states will have to possess a mandatory negative RT-PCR test report conducted within 72 hours of flight departure, to be allowed entry into the state. This directive came into effect on Friday.
There are some travel industry official who feel that the latest move by ICMR, if implemented in consultation with states, will benefit passengers in the long run as delays in RT-PCR reports have led to travellers cancelling their plans.
“We welcome this move, as it would reduce the load on labs. There is a huge confusion on what laws there are between each state (for passengers)," said Rikant Pitti, co-founder of online travel platform EaseMyTrip.
“A lot of people are going back to their native place and more than 50% of queries we get are related to restrictions, which only add to the chaos," Pitti said.
Some states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Kerala have similar orders in place like West Bengal, while others such as Delhi and Maharashtra have state-specific test requirements. Delhi asks for negative test reports for passengers coming from Maharashtra, while the latter has made it mandatory for passengers from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, and Goa to carry such reports.
With RT-PCR test kits in shortage, Jayaprakash Muliyil, chairman of the scientific advisory committee of the ICMR’s National Institute of Epidemiology at Chennai, said it is better to seek rapid antigen test (RAT) reports, which are less accurate but also faster, while also looking for symptoms at the airport.
“Neither test is perfect. Even RT-PCR test does not detect covid-19 in early stages and the report takes a long time, sometimes even four days, to come. So logically, it is much safer to do a RAT because you will get the result in half an hour. If it is negative but the person is showing symptoms then do the RT-PCR test," Muliyil said. A serological survey showed that for every case that was picked up by RT-PCR, there were about 30 that were missed, Muliyil said. It is better for states to look at faster detection of passengers with covid-19 than simply asking then to come with a negative test report to the airport, he said.
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