Govt revises guidelines for international arrivals in India

Home Ministry has extended the COVID-19 guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, till December 31. In an order, the Ministry asked the States and UTs to go for rigorous screening and testing of all international arrivals. It said, these international travelers must also be closely tracked and tested as per Health Ministry's guidelines and the samples of travelers turning positive are sent to the designated Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories promptly, as per the INSACOG Guidance Document. The Ministry said, State Surveillance Officers must establish a close coordination with the designated or tagged genome sequencing laboratories for expediting the results of genomic analysis and the States and UTs should immediately undertake necessary public health measures in case presence of variants of concern or variants of interest.

In view of reporting of Omicron, the new variant of Covid-19 the Union Health Ministry has revised guidelines for international arrivals in India to be effective from December 1.The Ministry has mandated submitting 14 days travel details, uploading negative RT-PCR test report on Air Suvidha portal before the journey. The RT-PCR test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey. 

If you are planning to travel by air then here are the guidelines issued by Govt. of India. Follow these & stay safe! #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/t8yHLhHqZa pic.twitter.com/8YNBQjN5ZX

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) November 30, 2021

If the test returns positive for the infection, the sample will be sent for genome sequencing and the traveller treated as per standard protocol. For those who test negative upon arrival, the government has advised home quarantine for at least 14 days. The guidelines also specify stringent screening for travellers entering India from any of 12 'at risk' countries. These include the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.