As COVID-19 cases continue to show an upward trend in the country, the state of Assam has made it mandatory for all air travellers from Mumbai and Bengaluru to carry a negative RT-PCR report.

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This new rule will be applicable from April 9, 2021. 

"All air travellers from Mumbai and Bengaluru arriving at any airport in Assam need to carry a negative RT-PCR report of test conducted within 72 hours of arrival, with effect from 9th April," news agency ANI said in a tweet.

As per state government rules, the price for RT-PCR Covid-19 test at laboratories is Rs 500 and for RT-PCR samples collected from home the price is Rs 700.

Assam will go to polls for the third and final phase of assembly elections on April 6 and the counting of votes will take place of May 2.

This development comes on a day when Mumbai reported 11,163 positive cases, highest since the pandemic started.

Meanwhile, India recorded 93,249 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the highest single-day rise this year, taking the total tally to 1,24,85,509.

On Sunday (April 9), Prime minister Narendra Modi chaired a review meet for COVID-19 situation in India where he said the the situation in Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh is of “serous concern.”

The Union ministry in a statement said that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 76.41% of the total active cases in the country.