Coronavirus In Mumbai / BMC Makes 14 Days Of Home Quarantine Compulsory For Domestic Travellers

Domestic passengers arriving in Mumbai will now have to isolate at home for 14 days as a precaution against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a statement.

The BMC issued this directive to its staff deputed at the airport as well as the airport officials on August 3. All arriving passengers without "written exemption" must be stamped, requiring them to undergo home quarantine for 14 days, it said.

"All passengers arriving in Mumbai will be stamped on their left hand for identification and will have to compulsorily undergo home isolation and self-monitor for a period of 14 days as per protocol. Local authorities will be authorised to give exemptions for contributing to an office or other important work after checking passengers," the statement said.

The statement also addressed the issue of government officials landing and securing exemption by showing their identity cards saying, "Any exemption request for any government servant has to be made in writing at least two working days before landing stating full details of the work."

The order, signed by additional municipal commissioner P Velrasu, was tweeted by the BMC on Friday following a controversy over its decision to put Bihar IPS officer Vinay Tiwari in home quarantine when he arrived here in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput case. On Friday, the BMC allowed Tiwari to travel back to Bihar.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai rose to 1,21,027 on Friday with 862 new patients being reported, the BMC said.

The death toll due to the pandemic in the country's financial capital reached 6,690 with 45 new fatalities, it said. With 1,236 patients being discharged from hospitals during the day, the number of recovered COVID-19 patients increased to 93,897, the BMC added. The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Mumbai is 77 per cent, it said. The city has 20,143 active coronavirus patients.