The Government of India issued revised guidelines for all international arrivals, which came into effect on January 22nd. The health ministry has relaxed isolation protocols for COVID-positive passengers, but all the rest remain firmly in place. Passengers must still follow a host of pre-and post-arrival formalities, which differ slightly based on the country of origin.
Latest guidelines
India's health ministry tweaked its guidelines for passengers arriving from international shores. In a big relief to passengers testing positive upon arrival, they will not be mandatorily sent to an isolation facility and will be given an option to quarantine at home. However, most other rules remain the same and can be broken down into pre-and post-arrival protocols.
Pre-arrival
Passengers must upload a self-declaration form and a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report on the online Air Suvidha portal. The test should be conducted within 72 hours before departure.
Travelers also have the option of pre-booking the on-arrival test. According to the latest government guidelines, it is, in fact, mandatory for passengers arriving in six metro cities from "at-risk countries" – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad – to pre-book their test.
Post-arrival
All passengers will undergo a thermal screening, and those arriving from "at-risk" countries will have to submit samples for a post-arrival COVID test (self-paid). Around 2% of passengers on flights arriving from "not at risk" countries will also undergo a test.
Those testing negative must self-quarantine for seven days and re-test on the 8th day. Passengers testing positive will be asked to isolate as per standard protocols and their samples sent for genome testing. Contacts of positive travelers, such as passengers sitting in close proximity – will also be asked to home quarantine.
What has changed?
While the revised guidelines include just one change, it's quite a significant one. Earlier, passengers testing positive upon arrival had to quarantine at government-approved facilities. Many saw this as a huge inconvenience and preferred quarantining at home or in a more comfortable setting.
In a massive relief to such passengers, the government has removed the clause that mandated staying at an 'isolation facility' upon arrival. This means that COVID-positive passengers arriving from any country now have the option of recovering at home and uploading the test result after seven days on the online portal.
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Managing the situation
The Indian government has revised the guidelines for international passengers numerous times according to the COVID situation. As the Omicron variant tightened its grip around the world last month, authorities in India increased the number of "at-risk" countries from 10 to 19.
However, strict protocols didn't stop the spread, and revisions have been made keeping in mind the current situation.
The world is slowly adapting to the realities of the pandemic and learning to live with the virus. While efforts are still being made to reduce spread as much as possible, the focus is also gradually shifting to managing the infection more effectively.