Revised guidelines to come into effect from midnight of January 11, 2022
New Delhi: In view of the global resurgence of COVID-19, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed today of revising the guidelines for international arrival that shall be valid from January 11, 2022 (00.01 Hours IST).
The following changes have been made in the Revised Guidelines of January 6, 2022 as compared to previous guidelines of November 30, 2021:
- All travellers, including those 2% who were selected for random testing on arrival and were found negative, will undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India.
- Travelers shall also be required to upload results of RT-PCR test for COVID-19 done on 8th day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs).
- All travellers who need to undertake testing on arrival, should preferably pre-book the test online on Air Suvidha Portal, to facilitate timely testing and avoid inconvenience.
Following are the detailed guidelines issued by the Ministry:
A.1. Planning for Travel
i. All travellers should
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- Submit complete and factual information in self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal (https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration) before the scheduled travel, including last 14 days travel details.
- Upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report*. The test should have been conducted within 72 hrs prior to undertaking the journey.
- Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise.
- Submit complete and factual information in self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal (https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration) before the scheduled travel, including last 14 days travel details.
ii. They should also give an undertaking on the portal or otherwise to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, through concerned airlines before they are allowed to undertake the journey that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority to undergo home/institutional quarantine/ self-health monitoring, as warranted.
iii. Continuing with the earlier approach, travellers from certain specified Countries (based on epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in those Countries) are identified for additional follow-up. These include need for additional measures as detailed in para (xviii) below. The listing of such specified Countries is a dynamic exercise based on evolving situation of COVID-19 across the world and will be made available on the websites of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, (mohfw.gov.in) and the link of the same will be available at website of Ministry of External Affairs and Air Suvidha Portal.
iv. All travellers who need to undertake testing on arrival, should preferably pre-book the test online on Air Suvidha Portal, to facilitate timely testing.
A.2. Before Boarding
vi. Do’s and Don’ts shall be provided along with ticket to the travellers by the airlines/agencies concerned.
vii. Airlines to allow boarding by only those passengers who have filled in all the information in the Self Declaration Form on the Air Suvidha portal and uploaded the negative RT–PCR test report.
viii. At the time of boarding the flight, only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after thermal screening.
ix. All passengers shall be advised to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices.
x. In–flight announcement about COVID–19 including precautionary measures to be followed shall be made at airports and in flights and during transit.
xi. During in–flight crew shall ensure that COVID appropriate behaviour is followed at all times.
xii. If any passenger reports symptoms of COVID–19 during flight, he/she shall be isolated as per protocol.
xiii. Proper in–flight announcements should be made by the airlines regarding the testing requirements and people who need to undergo such testing to avoid any congestion at the arrival airports.
A.4. On Arrival
xv. Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the health officials present at the airport. The self–declaration form filled online shall be shown to the airport health staff.
xvi. The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to medical facility as per health protocol. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocol#.
xvii. Travellers from specified countries at risk [as mentioned in para (iii) and (iv) above] will follow the protocol as detailed below:
• Submission of sample for post–arrival COVID–19 test* at the point of arrival (self–paid). Such travellers will be required to wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.
• If tested negative they will follow, home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT–PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India.
• Travelers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT–PCR test for COVID–19 done on 8th day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs).
• If negative, they will further self–monitor their health for next 7 days.
• However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network.
• They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing mentioned in para (xvii).
• The contacts of such positive case should be kept under home quarantine monitored strictly by the concerned State Government as per laid down protocol.
It may be mentioned that the guidelines were last updated on November 3, 2021.
– global bihari bureau
