Maharashtra: As some evade quarantine, CM wants Centre to isolate international fliers everywhere

International passengers being screened at the airport on December 12. Pic/Sameer Markande

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray wants the central government to make it mandatory for international passengers from select countries to quarantine at their arrival city, and then travel to their final destination.

His proposal comes in view of certain instances where certain international passengers are evading quarantine in Maharashtra by travelling via other states. Domestic travellers are not required to go into isolation after arrival. By evading the healthcare precaution, some 'smart' passengers are creating problems for their parent state.

On Monday evening, Thackeray told the state's COVID Task Force to be more cautious now after eight passengers who arrived in Maharashtra from the UK tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus.

A statement from the CM's office stated that Thackeray would urge the Centre to immediately send passengers arriving from Britain, South Africa and the Middle East to mandatory quarantine wherever they land.

"Tracing passengers landing in other states becomes difficult after they travel to Maharashtra. In Mumbai, passengers from specific countries are sent to institutional quarantine. I think the Centre should quarantine such passengers before they travel to other states without informing the authorities," the CM said in the statement.