Travelling to India from abroad? Here are the latest guidelines for international arrivals

Every passenger will have to go through a thermal screening, and those from `at-risk` countries will have to take a Covid test upon arrival.

Indian government issued revised guidelines for all international arrivals, which became effective on January 22nd. In the past few weeks, the health ministry has relaxed its isolation protocols for passengers with Covid, but all the rest remain in place. Regardless of the country of origin, travelers must still follow a host of pre- and post-arrival formalities.

Indian health officials have rewritten their guidelines for passengers arriving from abroad. Passengers who test positive upon arrival will not be forced to quarantine in an isolation facility, instead they will be given the option to quarantine at home. The majority of other rules remains the same and can be broken down into pre- and post-arrival protocols.

The online Air Suvidha portal requires that travelers upload a self-declaration form and a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report. Tests must be done within 72 hours prior to travel. Pre-booked on-arrival tests are also available to travelers. The latest government guidelines call for pre-booking of tests to be mandatory for all passengers arriving in six metro cities located in "at-risk countries" - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

A thermal screening will be conducted on every passenger, and those traveling from “at-risk” countries will have to complete a Covid test (self-paid) after arrival. Additionally, passengers arriving from “not at risk” countries will need to undergo a screening. A person who tests negative must quarantine for seven days and take a re-test on the day eight. Passengers who test positive will be asked to isolate themselves as per standard protocol and their samples will be sent for genome analysis. Passengers sitting in close proximity to positive travelers will also be ordered to home quarantine.

Only one change is included in the updated guidelines, but it is an important one. Passengers with positive tests on arrival had to be quarantined at government facilities. This quarantine process was viewed as an inconvenience by many, who preferred quarantining at home or in a more comfortable setting. As a result, such passengers no longer have to stay at an 'isolation facility' upon arrival, which is a huge relief. Therefore, COVID-positive passengers arriving from anywhere in the world now have the option to recover at home and upload the Covid test result after seven days to the online portal.

According to the Covid situation, the guidelines for international passengers have been revised numerous times. Earlier this month, the emergence of the Omicron variant was intensified throughout the world, leading to an increase of 19 countries named as "at-risk" by authorities in India. Despite the strict protocols, the spread was not stopped, and revisions were made with the current situation in mind. Globally, people are gradually adjusting to the realities of the pandemic and learning to live with it. In addition to reducing infection spread as much as possible, the focus is gradually shifting to more effective management of the infection.

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