Tourists won’t be stopped for Covid -ve report: HP CM

| | Shimla
  • 0

Tourists won’t be stopped for Covid -ve report: HP CM

Wednesday, 14 April 2021 | PNS | Shimla

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday assured that tourists visiting the State will not be harassed for a Covid-19 negative test report on the State’s borders.

His statement came a day after the State Government issued fresh guidelines asking all persons visiting the state from seven worst-affected states to carry a Covid-19 negative test report.

“As such, no tourist coming to Himachal can be denied entry. But we have put in place a mechanism for monitoring tourists on their arrival at the place of their stay,” the Chief Minister said while talking to the mediapersons in Dharamshala.

The fresh guidelines issued by Himachal Government on April 12 stated, “From April 16 onwards, all persons intending to visit state for tourism related activities, from COVID-19 high load States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab by road, air and trains are advised to carry negative RT-PCR report for COVID-19 from an ICMR accredited or approved laboratory issued not earlier than 72 hours.”

He said that Himachal being a major tourist place in the country welcomes lakhs of tourists every year. The state had last year suffered owing to the spread of COVID-19 in the country and the tourism sector was hit badly.

This year too, the COVID-19 surge can impact the ongoing tourist season. So, in the SOP released for the hotel and hospitality industry, we have put in place a mechanism to monitor it accordingly. Tourists and other visitors will not be harassed by stopping for COVID-19 reports on the state’s borders because it causes a lot of inconvenience and difficulty to them, he said.

The Chief Minister said that as the majority of the visitors who come for business or tourism purposes will stay in hotels, the government has put in place a mechanism to check the visitors from the seven states on their arrival at the place of their stay.

 

ENHANCE COVID TESTING AND ENCOURAGE VACCINATION, DIRECTS THAKUR

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday directed the health and administrative authorities to declare a place or locality as a mini containment zone where over five COVID-19 positive cases are reported in Kangra and Chamba districts.  He also directed that frequency of testing should be increased and people should be encouraged to vaccinate themselves.

The Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in Kangra and Chamba districts. Kangra is the worst affected district due to COVID-19 in the state.

Thakur said that the number of active cases has been on rise in both these districts and the persons under home isolation should be monitored regularly.

They should be guided properly to keep their morale high and should be provided thermometer, oximeters and medicines by the health authorities, he said.

The Chief Minister further said that in view of Navratri festival, all devotees visiting temples and other religious places should avoid overcrowding and their effective regulation should also be ensured.

The State Government has allowed temples to remain open but at the same time organizing langars, bhandaras and kirtans have been banned.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda