Passengers, experts question Covid-19 testing upon arrival in airports across Maharashtra

Two weeks after the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests was mandated for passengers arriving from Delhi, Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat, 104 of 9,704 total passengers who underwent the test at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) between November 26 and December 8 tested positive for Covid-19. Passengers, however, have raised questions about the state government’s rule of allowing passengers to leave the airport without their test reports.

Earlier, the airport had reported that many passengers were sneaking out in order to skip the RT-PCR tests. While this issue was resolved, few arriving passengers are reportedly not reacting well when asked to pay ₹1,400 per person for the test, the reports of which arrive after a minimum of 24 hours.