Centre Issues Revised Guidelines for Int'l Arrivals; No More 'At-Risk' Countries, 7-Day Quarantine

The Centre on Thursday revised guidelines for international arrivals, removing demarcation of ‘at-risk’ countries, which were specified during the onset of the Omicron variant, and recommended self-monitoring for 14 days as opposed to the current 7-day home quarantine rule. The new guidelines will come into effect from February 14, the Union Health Ministry said.

“Besides uploading negative RT-PCR report (taken 72 hrs prior to journey), option to upload certificate of completing full primary vaccination schedule of COVID-19 vaccination provided from countries on a reciprocal basis,” Mandaviya tweeted. The list of countries have been mentioned at the end of the article.

The Centre recommended 14 days of self-monitoring as opposed to seven-day home quarantine that is currently the mandate. “If travelers under self health-monitoring, develop signs and symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, they will immediately self-isolate and report to their nearest health facility or call National helpline number 1075/state helpline number,” the revised guidelines stated.

As per the new guidelines, all foreign arrivals must fill a self-declaration form online (available at the Air Suvidha web portal), including a travel history of the past 14 days. They must also upload a negative RT-PCR test that was conducted within 72 hours of the travel date.

“Random sampling of 2% of International Travellers from all countries on arrival. Travellers can give sample & are allowed to leave the airport,” Mandaviya said in a tweet.

On arrival, in addition to thermal screening, passengers selected at random (up to two per cent of total passengers per flight) will be asked to undergo RT-PCR tests. Passengers will be selected by the airline and must “preferably” be from different countries, according to the guidelines.

Passengers found to be symptomatic will be immediately quarantined and tested, with contact tracing carried out if they are found to be Covid-positive.

The Centre has also dispensed the need for undertaking RT-PCR test on the 8th day and uploading the result on Air Suvidha portal.

List of countries/regions in respect of which primary vaccination schedule completion certificate is allowed to be uploaded:

1. Albania
2. Andorra
3. Angola
4. Antigua & Barbuda
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Azerbaijan
8. Bangladesh
9. Bahrain
10. Belarus
11. Botswana
12. Bulgaria
13. Canada
14. Cambodia
15. Chile
16. Columbia
17. Commonwealth of Dominica
18. Costa Rica
19. Croatia
20. Cuba
21. Cyprus
22. Denmark
23. Estonia
24. Finland
25. Georgia
26. Grenada
27. Guatemala
28. Guyana
29. Hong Kong
30. Hungary
31. Iceland
32. Iran
33. Ireland
34. Israel
35. Kazakhstan
36. Kyrgyzstan
37. Latvia
38. Lebanon
39. Liechtenstein
40. Malaysia
41. Maldives
42. Mali
43. Mauritius
44. Mexico
45. Moldova
46. Mongolia
47. Myanmar
48. Namibia
49. Nepal
50. New Zealand
51. Netherlands
52. Nicaragua
53. North Macedonia
54. Oman
55. Paraguay
56. Panama
57. Portugal
58. Philippines
59. Qatar
60. Romania
61. St. Kitts and Nevis
62. San Marino
63. Saudi Arabia
64. Serbia
65. Sierra Leone
66. Singapore
67. Slovak Republic
68. Slovenia
69. Spain
70. Sri Lanka
71. State of Palestine
72. Sweden
73. Switzerland
74. Thailand
75. The United Kingdom
76. Trinidad & Tobago
77. Turkey
78. Ukraine
79. United States of America
80. Venezuela
81. Vietnam
82. Zimbabwe

Read all the Latest India News here