In view of the growing concerns over Omicron, the health ministry on Sunday revised its guidelines for international travelers coming to India from December 1. As per the guidelines, passengers will have to submit travel details of 14 days. On Online Air Suvidha Portal before the scheduled journey along with self-declaration form.
They will also have to upload a negative COVID RT-PCR report and should have been tested within 72 hours before starting the journey. Every person shall also submit a declaration regarding the authenticity of the report and shall be liable to criminal prosecution if found otherwise.
In addition, persons arriving from specified countries at risk will have to be tested for COVID and wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or connecting to the flight. If the test is negative, they will have to undergo home quarantine for 7 days, test again on the eighth day of arrival in India and if negative, self-monitor their health for the next 7 days.
“However, if such passengers test positive, their samples should be sent to the INSACOG laboratory network for genomic testing. They will be managed in a separate isolation facility and treated as per the prescribed standard protocols including contact tracing,” the ministry said. The contacts of such positive cases should be placed in institutional quarantine or home quarantine and strictly monitored as per the protocol prescribed by the respective State Government.
For those arriving from countries other than the “at risk” category, 5 per cent of such passengers will have to undergo RT-PCR test on arrival. If their test is negative, they will have to self-monitor for 14 days and if positive, their samples will be sent for genome sequencing.
International travelers arriving through Ports/Land Ports will have to submit a self-declaration form on arrival to the concerned authorities of the Government at the Ports/Land Ports.
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