COVID-19 test mandatory here for people arriving from these 5 states

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday (February 23) issued an order to make the COVID-19 test mandatory for people coming from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the wake of a surge in coronavirus cases in these states.

The decision has taken in face of a sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in several states.

"Due to the rise in COVID19 cases in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, travellers from these states have to undergo testing on arrival in Uttarakhand at state borders, railway stations, and Dehradun airport," Dehradun District Magistrate told ANI.

Notably, India today registered 10,584 new COVID-19 cases and 78 deaths in the last 24 hours. With the new cases, the coronavirus tally in the country has reached 1,10,16,434 including 1,47,306 active cases and 1,07,12,665 discharges, while the death toll has mounted to 1,56,463 with the loss of 78 lives, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) data.

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It may be noted here that the five state governments have imposed fresh restrictions and ordered mandatory testing at the borders and the airports in view of rising COVID-19 cases. The states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan recently witnessed a significant jump in COVID-19 cases. The two-state governments have, therefore, imposed strict lockdown, curfews in various cities.

Three other states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat - have directed authorities to screen visitors coming from 'high-risk' Maharashtra which has registered a significant jump in cases in the last 15 days.