Revised guidelines for int'l travellers mandate 7-day home quarantine, covid test

All international arrivals in India must mandatorily undergo seven day home quarantine from January 11 as per the revised Covid guidelines. The guidelines were revised in light of rising Covid cases and the looming Omicron threat.

As per the renewed guidelines, all travellers coming from countries specified as ' at-risk' shall have to undergo home quarantine for seven days and then take an RT-PCR test on the eighth day. They shall also have to submit samples for Covid testing at the point of arrival at their own cost and await their test results before leaving or taking a connecting flight. If tested negative, they shall have to undergo home quarantine, undergo an RT-PCR again on the eighth day of arrival and upload the results on the Air Suvidha portal. If again tested negative, they shall have to self-monitor for the next seven days. If positive after eight days, their samples have to be sent for genomic testing at the INSACOG laboratory network. If tested positive upon arrival, travellers shall be subjected to stringent isolation protocols, the new guidelines added.

Travellers from countries other than those identified as 'at-risk' shall also have to undergo home quarantine for seven days and undertake an RT-PCR test on the eighth. They, too, have to upload their results on the Air Suvidha portal and self-monitor their health for the next seven days if found negative.

Furthermore, all travellers must submit their complete and factual information in a self-declaration form on the portal before their scheduled travel. This includes travel details of the 14 days before the scheduled journey. They must also upload a negative RT-PCR report conducted within 72 hours before undertaking the journey.