Amid Covid Surge, Himachal Makes Online Registration Mandatory For Arrival

Online registration has been made mandatory from Tuesday midnight for people wanting to enter Himachal Pradesh, a state government notification said.

The order was issued on Sunday by the state health secretary under the HP Epidemic Disease (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020.

All people desirous of entering the state shall register themselves online and details of their arrival will be shared with all concerned for the purpose of quarantine requirement and contact tracing, the order said.

This will be applicable from April 27 midnight to May 10, it added. "However, there shall be no monitoring of the inter-district and intra-district movement, except that from or into a containment zone," It added.

The notification further stated that all returnees from the coronavirus hotspots shall be treated as "high-risk contacts" and shall be subjected to the protocol of home/institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days since entry into the state or earlier if he/she is tested negative for COVID-19 on the sixth or seventh day after entry.

However, the requirement of quarantine shall not be applicable to those who are returning from hotspots but have undergone a RT-PCR test, conducted not earlier than 72 hours before entering the state, the order said.

Those will not be quarantined who have been vaccinated and a period of minimum 14 days has elapsed since the second dose of vaccine, it said, adding that the person must possess the final vaccination certificate issued to him or her. The requirement of quarantine will also not be applicable on those who travel to Himachal Pradesh from the hotspot areas for a short duration, not exceeding 72 hours, for medical, business or office purposes, it said.

Similarly, the state residents who visit hotspots outside the state for a short duration for medical, business or office purposes and return within 72 hours will also be exempted from any requirement of quarantine, provided they are asymptomatic.