The Rajasthan government on Thursday made it mandatory for those arriving from Maharashtra and Kerala to have a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test, issued within 72 hours of their journey.

This decision was taken at a virtual Covid-19 review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot from his residence in Jaipur. He said that Covid has not entirely gone and in the past few days, the cases have spiked in Kerala and Maharashtra, among other states.

“Hence, the citizens of the state need to stay cautious,” he said, terming the rise in cases in some states “a cause for concern, because no one knows what form the disease might take.” Apart from a mandatory RT-PCR test, the arrivals from these two states will be screened at railway stations and airports.

Gehlot also said that following good management, the state had given relaxations in business and social activities but “it is being seen that some are not exercising caution in following the Covid protocol” and announced another awareness campaign in the state from the first week of March. He said that precaution is necessary “to ensure that the state remains safe from the third wave of Covid.”

The campaign will be run by the Information and Public Relations Department as well as the Department of Local Self Government. He directed the officials to spread awareness through hoardings, banners, pamphlets, social media, radio, television, and other means.

Health and Family Welfare Department Secretary Siddharth Mahajan said that the active cases in the state are just 0.38 per cent and recovery rate 98.75 per cent. He also said that the doubling rate of cases in the state is 2,521 days while nationally, it is 586 days. Additionally, as many as 79 per cent registered healthcare and frontline workers have been administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination as against the national average of 59.7 per cent.

A total of 128 new Covid cases were reported from across Rajasthan on Thursday, with no new deaths. The active cases in the state stand at 1,208. So far, 3.19 lakh persons in the state have tested positive for the virus while 2,785 have died.