Mumbai : Speaking to media about the revised COVID rules, State Minister Aditya Thackeray said that Maharashtra needs to be more cautious than other state over the new COVID variant ‘Omicron.’ Last time Maharashtra was ‘hit first and was hit the hardest amid friction with the Centre over the guidelines at airports. The state has revised its guidelines, which the Centre wanted in sync with the national rules. But, Aditya Thackeray son of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has clearly stated that Maharashtra keeps ‘people’s safety is their first priority,’ and hence state’s rules will be different from those of Centre.
Aditya Thackeray refused to communicate further details before formal announcement, and pointed out at the state’s floating population. He said, “We have to do certain things in a stricter fashion because if you see the last time also — we were hit first, we were hit the hardest and we were always accountable and transparent… so we need to be a little cautious about our state.”
Maharashtra announced a series of restrictions on November 30, that were to come into effect at midnight, which would have spelled trouble for more than a thousand incoming international passengers who would have boarded their planes without knowing about any change in rules.
Under the rules, those from more than 50 ‘at risk’ nations had to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine of seven days, during which they had to take three RT-PCR tests and pay for all.
International passengers not from “at risk” nations had to take RT-PCR tests, which they had to pay for. Those with negative reports could leave the airport but had to undergo home quarantine for 14 days.
The state later partially relaxed the restrictions. Aaditya Thackeray said it was necessary since the passengers had no chance to plan their trips or finances.
Yesterday morning, the Centre asked the state to “align with orders issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare”.
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