BMC to ramp-up Covid-19 testing as Mumbai to see surge in overseas travellers

Passengers seen near a check-in counter at the Mumbai airport on November 3. File pic

With the preparations for the year-end festivities and holiday season scheduled to kick-off next month, and a surge in in-bound travellers from foreign countries expected, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to ramp-up testing to ensure that the COVID-19 infection is under check. The civic body will ensure that those flying into the city get tested and lookout for any new variants of the virus as well.

Currently, the civic body is monitoring the daily cases to see whether there is any rise in view of Diwali. Officials said that the situation was under control, but they plan to conduct aggressive testing to keep the infection under check. Anticipating an increase in the number of overseas travellers coming to Mumbai next month, the civic body plans to keep a close watch on the COVID numbers in the city.

Officials said that owing to COVID restrictions, many overseas travellers were unable to visit Mumbai last year. Besides, airlines have also started operating at 100 per cent capacity. With restrictions relaxed, people are likely to visit their hometowns. Recently, the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said that the passenger traffic was inching towards what it was in the pre-COVID days.

Speaking to mid-day, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suresh Kakani said that there have been news reports about the Mumbai airport witnessing record number of passengers, highest since March 23 last year.

"In December there may be an increase in the number of in-bound international travellers considering that travel restrictions have been eased and also because a large number of people are vaccinated now. Any new variant will be enough to rock the boat and therefore, we will monitor the situation very closely. We request travellers to undergo tests and also appeal to those with mild symptoms to get tested too," added Kakani.