TRAIN, DOMESTIC AIR PASSENGERS MAY BE HOME QUARANTINED
With the Central government planning to resume domestic flights from Monday, and 200 trains from June 1, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) anticipates an increased passenger influx in the city.
With this in mind, BMC is planning to screen all passengers on arrival and home quarantine them for 14 days.
The civic body said that institutional quarantine for those arriving via domestic flights will pose a challenge considering the hotel rooms have to be kept for incoming international passengers and increasing cases in Mumbai. However, BMC has maintained that discussions between the state government and Centre on the same will take place to formalise the guidelines for those coming to Mumbai via domestic flights and trains.
“We have been quarantining international travellers at hotels, and currently around 1,040 of the 2,300 rooms are occupied. However, we will require these rooms considering the Central government plans to operate more repatriation flights under mission Vande Bharat. Also, the number of local cases may increase in the future, for which we need these hotel rooms,” said a BMC official.
At present, international travellers have been quarantined at hotels, and those arriving in the city via train are being home quarantined. BMC is screening all travellers arriving in the city.
Domestic flights are expected to resume from May 25 and from June 1 Indian Railways will operate mail trains to Mumbai.
P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner, said, “Aviation operations are under the Central government, and the discussions to restart will happen with the state government. We will take a call on the same after getting directions from the state government. However, we will prefer to have those arriving in the city via domestic flights to be home quarantined for 14 days.”
Meanwhile, BMC has issued a circular stating that all international passengers arriving in Mumbai, who are being quarantined at hotels, will be compulsorily tested before getting discharged.