Now, Covid –ve report must for visiting Digha

KOLKATA: The district administration in East Midnapore has made Covid negative report or vaccination certificate mandatory for people visiting Digha. The same order is effective for Mandarmani as well. The cases in the district are still on the higher side in comparison to most of the other districts.

Digha is the most popular sea beach destination in Bengal and with the gradual lifting of containment measures with a dip in Covid cases, tourists have started visiting Digha in large numbers.

"We are following certain Covid norms in the district to curb the spread of the virus. But tourists have started coming from other states. We have to ensure safety for the residents of our own district. So, as a precautionary measure we have made Covid negative report (RT-PCR) or vaccine certificate mandatory for them," Purnendu Kumar Maji, District Magistrate of East Midnapore said.

The tourists will have to furnish a negative report or vaccine certificate while checking into hotels. "We will conduct surprise raids at the hotels to find out whether Covid norms are being followed and if the recent guidelines are being adhered to. If anyone is found flouting the norms, we will initiate action against the concerned hotel authority," Maji said.

Bipradas Chakraborty, secretary of Digha Shankarpur Hoteliers Association, said the district administration's new directive has already been communicated to all hoteliers and they have been asked to comply with it.

However, with vaccination still pending for a number of people, a section of hoteliers feel that the tourist flow may dip because of the order.