<span style="color: #222222;">Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written a letter to the Maharashtra Government regarding the divergence in COVID protocol to be followed for air travellers.<br />'' <br />'' Maharashtra had yesterday issued a notification saying that RT-PCR testing will be mandatory for all international travellers irrespective of the country of origin and also for those planning to undertake connecting flights. This is in deviance with the Centre's SOPs which state that only those passengers, arriving from 'at risk' countries will be tested. The Centre had also said that just a subsection of passengers arriving from other locations will be tested randomly and they will be allowed to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival.  <br />'' <br />'' Maharashtra Government had also made a negative RT-PCR report mandatory for domestic passengers travelling from other states. This is in contrast to protocol that fully vaccinated citizens must be allowed to travel without being tested.<br />'' <br />'' In the letter, Mr Bhushan has advised Maharashtra's Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Dr. Pradeep Vyas to align the orders with Centre's SOPs so that uniform implementation of the guidelines may be ensured across all States/UTs.<br />''<br />''Meanwhile, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has put in place all necessary measures to implement the revised guidelines following the classification of Omicron as a variant of concern. While children below five years of age are exempted from both pre-arrival and post-arrival testing unless found symptomatic for COVID-19, all other passengers will have to submit a self-declaration form, copy of their passport, a negative RT-PCR report on the AIR Suvidha portal. On its part, the Mumbai airport has made elaborate arrangements, including additional testing and resting facilities, for the safety and convenience of arriving passengers. </span>