Covid-19 India

To reduce the risk of importing new mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a set of new guidelines on Wednesday for all international passengers arriving in India. The new SOP, which will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on February 22, includes a multiple screening and testing strategy to identify and isolate international travelers at risk.

The SOP establishes that all international travelers must submit a self-declaration form on the Air Subidha portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) before your trip. They must also upload a negative RT-PCR report for Covid, having been tested within 72 hours prior to embarking on the journey. Each passenger must also submit a statement regarding the authenticity of the report and will be held liable for criminal prosecution if determined otherwise, the guidelines establish.

Only those traveling to India in emergencies, such as the death of a family member, will be able to arrive without a negative Covid report. However, they must request the exemption on the online portal 72 hours before boarding.

During the trip, all passengers must wear masks, observe social distancing rules and have downloaded the Aarogya Setu app. After disembarking, passengers will have to undergo a thermal scan and show officials the online self-declaration form they had filled out. Those found symptomatic during the evaluation will be immediately isolated and taken to medical facilities.

People who have returned to the country after taking international flights have been advised to self-monitor their health for a period of 14 days. They will be provided with a number of state and national surveillance officers who they can contact if they show symptoms later on.

International travelers arriving through sea or land ports have been advised to follow the same set of guidelines. However, there is no possibility to register online for these passengers and they will have to submit the self-declaration forms to the competent authorities upon arrival.

For all international travelers coming or transiting flights originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East, the clauses on testing, quarantine and isolation are different. In addition to submitting the online self-declaration form and bringing the negative Covid report, they will need to mention their travel history for the last 14 days. They should also mention when they plan to disembark at the arrival airport or take more flights to India.

The SOP states that airlines must inform passengers that there may be a transit time of 6 to 8 hours at the airport, as passengers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, who need to take connecting flights, must undergo tests .

The guidelines further add that airlines must identify travelers arriving or transiting through the UK, South Africa and Brazil and separate them during the journey and upon disembarking. These travelers must deliver their samples for analysis before leaving the airport. State or airport authorities will inform them of your report later. If they test negative, they will remain in home quarantine for seven days, after which they will be tested again. A second negative report will mean they can come out of quarantine, but they must continue to monitor their health for the next seven days.

However, if they test positive, they must undergo treatment according to standard health protocol, the SOP states.

The guidelines were issued at a time when five people, who recently returned to India, were detected with the infectious variants of Covid-19 found in South Africa and Brazil.

Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), has said that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) had detected the South African variant, associated with the faster spread of the infection by the new coronavirus, in four people. in January, while another person had been detected with the Brazilian infectious variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus earlier this month.

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