CHENNAI: The state government on Sunday announced that travellers entering Tamil Nadu from Kerala should either carry a negative RTPCR test report or certificate showing that they have taken both the doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
Individuals should have taken the second dose at least 14 days prior to the date of entering Tamil Nadu by air, rail or road, the government said. The new measures, announced amid a spike in cases in Kerala, will come into effect from August 5. Kerala reported more than 20,000 cases a day last week.
Meanwhile, chief minister M K Stalin warned of another lockdown if people failed to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines and avoid overcrowding.
Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian, who inspected Covid-19 protocol measures at the Chennai airport on Sunday, said authorities have been directed to intensify surveillance at interstate borders and allow people only if they have necessary documents.
“The 13 points of entry from Kerala to Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore and border districts like Kanyakumari are of particular concern,” the minister said.
3rd wave could be more infectious: CM
At present, travellers from Kerala are subjected only to thermal screening and oxygen saturation levels are checked for some of them.
While airlines are likely to check documents at the time of boarding to Chennai, a railway official said they were awaiting instructions regarding this new requirement. “It is not clear yet if TTEs will be told to check the certificates in trains,” he added. An airport official said that in all probability, passengers will have to show the certificates during boarding at the airport of origin. Airlines may be told to issue instructions in the coming days, he said.
Subramanian said all passengers from the UK, South Africa, Brazil and middle east countries were administered RT-PCR tests as per the Union government’s guidelines. It costs ?900 per test and passengers have to wait for four hours to get the result, he said.
Answering a question on rapid RT-PCR tests, which were recently approved by the state government to screen departees in the international airport, the health minister said preparatory work was under way and would be completed in three days.
In a video message, the CM said compared to the first two waves, the third wave could be more infectious like the Spanish flu. The government has created necessary health infrastructure but people should not act in a negligent manner as there is no clarity yet on how much damage it could cause, he said.
Stalin also said the state has utilised all the vaccine doses provided to them and stressed on the need to sanction more vials for TN.
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