The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) on Friday said that of 2.2 lakh passengers who underwent RT-PCR tests at the Mumbai airport in the last six months, 1,480 tested positive.

Over 81,000 passengers registered for the test in February, compared to 1,700 in September last year, when the facility was launched at the airport, Times of India reported.

The Maharashtra government has made RT-PCR test mandatory for travellers from Kerala, which has been reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases, to check the spread of the viral infection in the western state.

Kerala’s active cases touched 64,390 on Wednesday, the highest in the country

The southern state also reported 5,980 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as per official figures. The decision of compulsory RT-PCR test for travellers from Kerala has come into effect from Wednesday, Maharashtra’s secretary for relief and rehabilitation (additional charge), Anoop Kumar, told PTI.

Kerala has been reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases and its active cases are as high as 64,000, he noted. “As a precautionary measure, the Maharashtra government has decided to make the RT-PCR test mandatory for travellers from Kerala,” the official said.

The test has to be done 72 hours before the commencement of travel, he added. Similar tests have been already made mandatory for travellers from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan since November last year.

Last week, Maharashtra reported 3,451 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 20,52,253, according to the state health department. The state has so far reported 51,390 deaths due to the disease.