Indian Government has issued revised guidelines to be followed by international travellers in the country amid the rising global outbreak of Omicron, the new variant of the coronavirus.
These guidelines will come into effect from December 1.
Here are the fresh rules for international travellers as per the Indian Health ministry guidelines.
When you are planning to travel:
a. Submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled
travel, including the last 14 days travel details.
b. Upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report*. This test should have been conducted
within 72 hrs prior to undertaking the journey.
c. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the
report and will be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise.
When you are boarding the flight:
1- Airlines to allow boarding by only those passengers who have filled in the Self Declaration
Form on the Air Suvidha portal, uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report.
2- Only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after the thermal screening.
3- All passengers shall download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices.
When you arrive at an Indian Airport:
1- De-boarding should be done ensuring physical distancing.
2- 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.
3- 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.
Protocols for Travellers from specified Countries at risk:
List of Countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing (Countries at-risk).
This list is current on 29th November 2021
- Countries in Europe including The United Kingdom
- South Africa
- Brazil
- Bangladesh
- Botswana
- China
- Mauritius
- New Zealand
- Zimbabwe
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Israel
A- 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.
B- If tested negative they will follow, home quarantine for 7 days. Re-test on the 8th day of arrival in India* and if negative, further self-monitor of their health for next 7 days.
C- If such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be sent for genomic testing at the INSACOG laboratory network.
1- They shall be managed at a separate isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing.
2- 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.
Protocols for Travellers from Countries excluding those Countries at risk:
They will be allowed to leave the airport and shall 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.
a. The 5% of such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the concerned airlines
(preferably from different countries).
b. Such travellers shall be escorted by the concerned airlines/MoCA to the testing area on
arrival.
c. The cost of testing of such travellers shall be borne by MoCA.
d. Laboratories shall prioritise testing of samples from such travellers.
e. If such travellers are tested positive, they shall be managed as per laid down standard
protocol and samples would be further sent for genomic testing.
If 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, they need to immediately self-isolate and report to their nearest health facility or call National helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number.
The existing guidelines have been revised in view of reporting of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, named Omicron (B.1.1.529), which has been now classified as a Variant of Concern by the World Health Organization, the Health Ministry said.
