Covid-19: Tourists coming to Kashmir by road will undergo coronavirus tests

All travellers coming to Kashmir by road shall undergo coronavirus tests in Kulgam district, an official said on Thursday.

Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Aijaz Asad chaired a meeting to review the coronavirus situation, a spokesperson said.

Asad said the testing for travellers coming by road shall be started in Lower Munda area in a couple of days as this would help in containing the spread of virus in the Valley.

The deputy commissioner said mass vaccination of hotel staff, drivers, houseboat staff and others shall be started across all tourist destinations.

A special training programme shall be conducted for the staff members to ensure that all standard operating procedures are followed strictly while dealing with the tourists, he said.

Asad urged the tourism stakeholders to ensure proper sanitation and hygiene in all hotels.

The deputy commissioner asked the hoteliers to keep two rooms available for isolation of tourists in case they test positive.

Dr Gazalla, the incharge COVID-19 testing at Srinagar Airport, deliberated on the importance of vaccination.

Various tourism stakeholders from Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg also attended the meeting.

The tourism players raised various demands, including hiring of separate hotel accommodation for isolation of infected tourists, permission to tourists to the valley only after their RT-PCR test reports, improvement in testing facility at the Airport and sanitation of hotels.