7-day home quarantine for all international arrivals, testing to be done on day 8; List of ‘at risk’ countries expanded – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Center on Friday made it mandatory for all international arrivals in India from ‘non-risk’ countries to undergo home quarantine for 7 days.
Travelers arriving from ‘at-risk’ countries and testing negative on arrival will also be required to do the same.
The Center also updated its list of ‘at risk’ countries.
This includes countries in Europe including the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia.
“The list is updated regularly based on the prevailing epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in these countries,” the ministry said.
The countries included in the list include Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zambia and Kazakhstan.
In addition, passengers will have to undergo RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival and upload the results on the Air Suvidha portal.
If the results are negative, they will need to self-monitor their health for another 7 days. And if they come back positive, their samples will be sent for genomic testing on the INSACOG laboratory network.
Infected persons will be treated in isolation facilities and contact tracing will be done.
The Union Health Ministry implemented strict arrival norms for those coming from non-risk countries. Testing will continue on arrival for passengers from at-risk countries and after receiving a negative report from the same, they will be allowed to exit the airport or take a connecting flight. However, they will also have to do home quarantine for a week and undergo RT-PCR test on the eighth day.
The health ministry order said, “The existing guidelines have been modified in view of the reporting of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1529; named Omicron), which has been approved by the World Health Organization for concern.” classified as said.
Other rules remain the same in terms of pre-departure information and the requirement to download the Aarogya Setu app. Two per cent of arrivals selected at random from non-risk countries will be tested post-arrival at the airport.