Govt issues new guidelines for international arrivals as mutant variants of Covid spread | Full list

The Center on Wednesday issued new guidelines for international arrivals as mutant variants of SARS-CoV-2 spread around the world. These will replace all guidelines issued since August 2, 2020. In view of five Covid-19 cases caused by mutant variants emerging in South Africa and Brazil found in India, the Union Ministry of Health said yesterday which was in talks with the Civil Aviation Ministry to see if the two nations’ air traffic control strategy, as was done after the UK variant was detected, could also be implemented here.

Center issues new POE on international travel | Main points

• This Standard Operating Procedure will be valid from February 22, 2021 (11:59 p.m. IST) until new orders, “the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Wednesday.
• The guides have been divided into three sections according to the origin of the trip.
• All international travelers, except those arriving on flights originating in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East, must submit a self-declaration form on the ‘Air Suvidha’ online portal before the scheduled trip.
• They would also have to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test report. This test should have been carried out within 72 hours before starting the trip.
• “Each passenger must also submit a statement regarding the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if determined otherwise,” the guidelines said.

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• According to the guidelines, all international travelers coming or in transit via flights originating in the UK, Europe and the Middle East must additionally submit a Self-Declaration Form (SDF) for Covid on the online portal ‘Air Suvidha ‘before the scheduled trip and you must declare your travel history for the last 14 days.
• “When filling out the SDF, in addition to providing all other information required in the SDF, passengers have to select: whether they plan to disembark at the arrival airport or take more flights to reach their final destination in India.”
• “Based on this selection, the SDF receipt will show ‘T’ (Transit) in a larger and more easily readable font than other text. Passengers will need to show this receipt to state authority or government officials at the airport for separation.” .
• According to the guidelines, travelers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa taking connecting flights from the international airport where they land will have to sample in the designated area and leave the airport only after confirmation of the test report negative that can take between 6 and 8 hours.
• “Travelers in transit from the UK, Brazil and South Africa who test negative at the airport will be allowed to take their connecting flights and will be advised to quarantine at home for 7 days and will be followed up regulate by the IDSP of the state or district in question. “
• “These travelers will be tested after 7 days and, if they test negative, they will be discharged from quarantine and will continue to monitor their health for another 7 days.”

(With input from IANS)

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