The Tamil Nadu government has made mandatory a negative RT-PCR test report and a COVID-19 vaccination (two doses) certificate for people coming to the State from neighbouring Kerala in order to keep the pandemic in check.

Owing to the huge number of coronavirus cases in the neighbouring State which saw 22,414 cases and 108 deaths on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government issued an addendum to the COVID-19 screening testing guidelines for inter-State travellers issued earlier by the Health and Family Welfare Department.

The addendum made compulsory the negative report or vaccination certificate or both for travellers from Kerala. All passengers entering Tamil Nadu from Kerala via air, sea, rail and road should carry a negative RT-PCR test report. The test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey or produce a certificate of two doses of approved COVID-19 vaccination or both, the addendum said.

In a communication to all the secretaries of the government departments and Greater Chennai Corporation today, the principal secretary to the government, Health and Family Welfare, Dr J Radhakrishnan said this clause was added following a request from the director of public health and preventive medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam to add to the existing COVID-19 screening testing guidelines. Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a dip in virus cases since Monday with the State recording less than 2,000 fresh cases. Today, there were 1,949 new cases.