Govt revises guidelines for international arrivals, does away with 7-day home quarantine

The government on Thursday issued revised guidelines for international arrivals, doing away with the mandatory seven-day home quarantine for those arriving from overseas and the need for them to undertake an RT-PCR test on the eighth day.

The revised guidelines will come into effect from February 14. A sub-section (2 percent of the total passengers on the flight) shall undergo random post-arrival testing at the airport on arrival. They will submit their samples and be allowed to leave the airport, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said while announcing the move on Twitter.

Instead of seven-day home quarantine as mandated earlier, all travelers will self-monitor their health for 14 days after their arrival, he said. According to the minister, besides uploading a negative RT-PCR report (taken 72 hours before the journey), there would also be an option to upload certificates of the completion of the full primary Covid vaccination schedule provided from countries on a reciprocal basis. The ministry provided a list of 82 such countries. These include the US, US, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

”Need for undertaking RT-PCR test on 8th day & uploading the same on Air Suvidha portal is dispensed with,” Mandaviya tweeted. Passengers found to be symptomatic during screening after arrival shall be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility following health protocol. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocol.

If such travelers test positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at the INSACOG laboratory network and they will be treated/isolated following standard protocol, the guidelines state.

International travelers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol as above, except that the facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently. Children under five years of age are exempted from both pre-and post-arrival testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the period of self-monitoring period, they shall undergo testing and be treated as per laid down protocol, the guidelines state.