7-day home quarantine mandatory for all international arrivals in India, Covid test on 8th: Government

7-day home quarantine mandatory for all international arrivals in India, Covid test on 8th: Government

India on Friday made seven-day home quarantine mandatory for all international arrivals and an RT-PCR test on the eighth day, as it issued revised guidelines for international passengers.

The guidelines released on Friday come into force from January 11 and will remain effective till further government orders.

As per the existing rules, which have been retained in the revised guidelines, travellers coming from countries specified as “at-risk” have to submit a sample for Covid testing post-arrival. They must wait for the results at the airport before leaving or after taking a connecting flight.

If tested negative, they need to undergo home quarantine for seven days and then get their RT-PCR test done on the eighth.

They are also required to upload the results of the RT-PCR test conducted on the 8th day on the Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs).

If negative, they have to further self-monitor their health for the next seven days.

The updated list of nations from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival, including post-arrival testing (countries at-risk) are countries in Europe, including The United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia.

For “not at risk” countries, a sub-section (2 per cent of the total flight passengers) shall undergo post-arrival testing at random at the airport.

According to the revised guidelines, these 2 per cent of travellers in each flight will be identified by the airline concerned (preferably from different countries).

Laboratories shall prioritise the testing of samples from such travellers.

Travellers from all categories of countries (including those 2 per cent who were selected for random testing on arrival and were found negative) will undergo home quarantine for seven days and undertake an RT-PCR test on the 8th day, officials sharing details about revised guidelines said.

International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocols as above, except that online registration is not currently available for such passengers.

Contacts of the suspect cases are the co-passengers seated in the same row, three rows in front and three rows behind, along with the identified cabin crew, the guidelines said.

Also, all the community contacts of the travellers who have tested positive (during the home quarantine period) would be subjected to quarantine for 14 days and tested as per the Indian Council of Medical Research protocol, the guidelines stated.

Children under 5 are exempted from both pre-and post-arrival testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the home quarantine period, they shall undergo testing and treatment, according to the laid down protocol.

Before undertaking the journey, all travellers will have to upload a negative RT-PCR report of the test conducted within 72 hours of the beginning of the trip.

Each passenger shall also submit a declaration concerning the report’s authenticity and will be liable for a criminal prosecution, if found otherwise, according to the guidelines.

Article Proofread & Published by Gauri Malhotra.