Passengers from Omicron-affected nations will be required to stay in home quarantine for seven days and retest on the eighth day if they test negative. They must continue to monitor their health for another seven days even if the re-test result is negative.
International passengers flying to India will be required to submit a Covid-negative report and share their travel history for the previous 14 days before boarding a flight, while those arriving from Omicron-affected countries will be required to take a mandatory Covid-19 test upon arrival and remain in an isolation facility if the test is positive, according to new guidelines released by the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.
Omicron-hit Nations
South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, and the United Kingdom are among the countries on the Omicron “at risk” list, in addition to the European countries where the Covid-19 pandemic has returned in recent weeks.
The new guidelines, which will supersede those announced on November 11, will take effect on December 1 at midnight. Before boarding an aircraft, all passengers must complete a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal, which includes information on their last 14 days of travel. They’d also have to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report, which had to be done within 72 hours after the trip.
Guidelines
According to the new guidelines, each passenger will also be required to sign a declaration confirming the validity of the report and will be subject to criminal penalty if the report is proved to be false.
Following the emergence of Omicron, which the World Health Organization has classified as a Variant of Concern, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the Covid-19 situation on Saturday and asked officials to enhance surveillance at airports, as well as reconsidering an earlier plan to open the skies from December 15.
To combat any threat posed by the new strain, the WHO urged countries in South Asia to
“scale up surveillance, strengthen public health and social measures, and enhance vaccination coverage”.
Omicron variant
The new SARS-CoV-2 variety has 32 mutations in the spike protein area, giving it the capacity to evade immunity and spread quickly. It is rapidly spreading in most of South Africa’s provinces.
Passengers from “at-risk” nations will be responsible for the expense of airport testing. Passengers arriving at the sea port and land port from such nations will be subject to similar rules. Only children under the age of five are exempted from taking the test.
