Flight passengers will pay an additional 500 rupees for mandatory RT-PCR test upon return at Silchar Airport

RT-PCR test is now mandatory for passengers returning to Cachar district by air. However, now they will have to pay an additional fee of 500 rupees for undergoing covid test. It will also take extra time as their test will be performed at a local government hospital and not at the airport. As a result, air passengers need to be prepared well in advance now keeping in mind the additional time required.

It was once said that passengers would not be tested at the airport if they could bring the covid report within 72 hours. However, the decision was later reversed and it was informed that every passenger would be tested at the airport. Cachar District Health Department on Tuesday informed that as Kumbhirgram Airport is small and there are too many planes landing there, passengers will have to mandatorily undergo RT-PCR test at the government hospital in Tikal Tea Garden and pay Rs 500 for each passenger.

As per the Health Department, about 600 passengers are now returning to the airport every day. After the RT-PCR test, they will be sent home with the advice to stay in isolation until the covid report comes out. Passengers will have to give a written signature stating that they will go home and stay in isolation. The entire process will be supervised by the health department of Cachar district with the airport not having much of a stake.

The Health Department said, “Every passenger has to undergo mandatory covid test as soon as they land to the airport as per government rules. However, the airport in Silchar is relatively small in size and there is one flight coming or going there every half an hour. In this situation, there is no need to test the passengers separately. Due to this reason, now they will be tested at the nearby government health center. There is a primary healthcare center at Tikal Tea Garden where a testing center has been set up for air passengers. Air passengers will be taken there on a special bus after disembarking from the plane. They will be tested first with the Rapid Antigen Test Kit and then the RT-PCR test. Although the RAT test is free but each passenger has to pay an additional Rs 500 for the RT-PCR test.”

Although this rule is applicable for passengers in the three districts of Barak Valley, however if a person halts at Silchar Airport for going to any neighbouring state then he/she wont have to undergo an RT-PCR test. If necessary then a rapid antigen test will be performed in that case. They won’t be able to use public transport and have to travel towards the end of Assam border in their own private vehicle. The whole process will be completed in their own state as per the rules prevalent there.

Meanwhile, a total of 47 people were infected with covid-19 in Cachar district on Tuesday. Rapid antigen test detected 31 infections while the RT-PCR detected 12. According to Silchar Medical and College Hospital, a total of six people have died due to covid so far this year. Two people are in critical condition at the hospital and placed on ventilation in their life support.

The total number of infected people in the district at present is 232, out of which 188 are undergoing treatment at home in strict isolation. Those who have symptoms in their body and need remdesivir or oxygen are being sent to medical centers. Silchar Medical College Hospital now has 24 patients while Civil Hospital has 3, Green Hills Hospital 11 and Army Hospital 6.