The Indian government, on Thursday, issued revised guidelines for international travellers to India. The new guidelines do away with the mandatory seven-day home quarantine for those arriving from overseas and the need for them to undertake an RT-PCR test on the eighth day. The revised guidelines will come into effect from February 14.
What Travellers need to do before their journey
Let’s look at the latest guidelines for international travellers to India
All travellers will have to submit complete and factual information in a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before travel, including travel details of the last 14 days.
All travellers will have to upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report. The test must be conducted 72 hours before the journey.
Fully vaccinated people may be exempt from the need to provide the RT-PCR test report.
Travellers will also have to submit a declaration regarding the report’s authenticity, and if any anomaly is found in the report, they will be liable for criminal prosecution.
Travellers will have to give an undertaking that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority regarding the post-arrival requirement to undergo home/institutional quarantine/ self-health monitoring.
Guidelines for travellers before boarding
The government has also issued certain guidelines that travellers must follow before boarding their flight to India. Do’s and Don’ts will be provided to travellers along with the airlines/agencies’ ticket.
Airlines will allow the boarding of only those passengers who have filled in all the information in the Self Declaration Form on the Air Suvidha portal and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report or COVID -19 vaccination certificate as proof of being fully vaccinated.
Only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after the thermal screening.
All passengers must download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices.
Guidelines for travellers once they board their flight
These are the guidelines that travellers need to follow once they board their flight. There will be in-flight announcements regarding COVID-19 appropriate precautionary measures that one needs to follow. These announcements will also be made at airports and during transit.
The in-flight crew will ensure that COVID appropriate behaviour is followed at all times.
If any passenger has COVID symptoms during flight, he/she shall be isolated as per protocol.
To avoid any congestion at the arrival airports, the airlines must make proper in-flight announcements on testing requirements and people who need to undergo such testing.
Guidelines to be followed on arrival
Social distancing must be ensured during de-boarding.
Travellers must submit to thermal screening by health officials after arrival.
Travellers must show the self-declaration form filled to the airport health staff.
Symptomatic passengers 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.
There will be random post-arrival testing at the airport on arrival.
If any travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network. They shall be treated/isolated as per laid down standard protocol.
All travellers will self-monitor their health for the next 14 days of arrival.
If travellers under self-health monitoring develop symptoms of COVID-19, they will immediately self-isolate and report to their nearest health facility or call the National helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number.
