Union Health Ministry, India, on November 28, revised guidelines for international arrivals in India and the new rules will be effective from December 1.
According to the new guidelines, the passengers must submit the self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha Portal before the scheduled travel and submit the last 14 days of travel details. It also mandated the uploading of negative RT-PCR test reports on the Air Suvidha portal before the journey. The test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey.
The revised guidelines were issued in view of reporting of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1.529; named Omicron), which has been now classified as a Variant of Concern by the World Health Organization.
The new guidelines for International Arrivals have been issued in supersession of all guidelines issued on the subject on and after November 11, 2021.
Also, each passenger shall submit a declaration concerning the report’s authenticity and will be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise. The passengers should also give an undertaking on the portal or otherwise to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, through concerned airlines before they are allowed to undertake the journey that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority to undergo home/institutional quarantine/ self-health monitoring, as warranted.
While travellers coming from the countries at-risk would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing. The United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel are included in the list. Even if they tested negative, they had to be in home quarantine for seven days, followed by a re-test on the eighth day.
“The listing of such specified Countries is a dynamic exercise based on the evolving situation of COVID-19 across the world and will be made available on the websites of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (mohfw.gov.in), and the link of the same will be available at the website of Ministry of External Affairs and Air Suvidha Portal,” said the guidelines.
Procedures to follow on arrival (update from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare)
- De-boarding should be done, ensuring physical distancing.
- Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the health officials present at the airport. The self-declaration form filled online shall be shown to the airport health staff.
- The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility as per health protocol. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocol.
- Travellers from specified Countries at risk [as mentioned in para (iii) above] will follow the protocol as detailed below:
- Submission of sample for post-arrival COVID-19 test* at the point of arrival (self-paid). Such travellers will be required to wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.
- If tested negative, they will follow home quarantine for seven days. Re-test on the 8th day of arrival in India* and if negative, further self-monitor of their health for next seven days.
- However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be sent to the INSACOG laboratory network for genomic testing.
- They shall be managed at a separate isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol, including contact tracing.
- The contacts of such positive cases should be kept under institutional quarantine or at home quarantine monitored strictly by the concerned State Government as per laid down protocol.
- Travellers from Countries excluding those at risk will be allowed to leave the airport and self-monitor their health for 14 days’ post-arrival. A sub-section (5% of the total flight passengers) shall undergo post-arrival testing at random at the airport on arrival.
- The concerned airlines shall identify the 5% of such travellers in each flight (preferably from different countries).
- Such travellers shall be escorted by the concerned airlines/MoCA to the testing area on arrival.
- MoCA shall bear the cost of testing such travellers.
- Laboratories shall prioritize testing of samples from such travellers.
- If such travellers are tested positive, they shall be managed according to the laid down standard protocol, and samples would be sent for genomic testing.
- Suppose travellers under home quarantine or self-health monitoring develop signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 on re-testing. In that case, they will immediately selfisolate and report to their nearest health facility or call the National helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number.
