Centre issues fresh guidelines for international arrivals amid Omicron threat

International passengers travelling to India will have to submit a Covid-negative report and share their travel history for the previous 14 days before boarding a flight, while those coming from the Omicron-hit countries will have to carry out mandatory Covid-19 test on arrival in India and stay in an isolation facility if tested positive, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday in new guidelines.

If tested negative, the passengers from the Omicron-affected countries will have to stay in home quarantine for seven days and re-test on the eighth day. Even if the re-test result turned out to be negative, they still have to monitor their health for another seven days.

The nations on the Omicron “at risk” list are South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel and the United Kingdom, besides the nations in Europe where a surge in the Covid-19 pandemic resurfaced in recent weeks.

Read | Omicron Covid variant reportedly has 30+ mutations in spike protein region, may bypass vaccines: AIIMS chief

The new guidelines that would surpass the existing ones issued on November 11, would come into effect from the midnight of December 1.

Before boarding an aircraft, all travellers should submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel, including last 14 days travel details. They would also have to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report for which the test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey.

Each passenger will also have to submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise, says the new guidelines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed the Covid-19 situation following the emergence of Omicron – described as a Variant of Concern by the World Health Organisation – and asked the officials to enhance surveillance at the airports, besides reviewing an earlier plan to open up the skies from December 15.

The WHO on Saturday asked the countries in South Asia to "scale up surveillance, strengthen public health and social measures, and enhance vaccination coverage" to ward off any threat from the new variant.

The new variant of SARS-CoV-2 carries 32 mutations in the spike protein region providing it with the ability to escape immunity and transmit fast. It is spreading fast in most of the provinces in South Africa.

Passengers coming from “at risk” countries will have to bear the cost of testing at the airport. Similar rules will be applicable for passengers from such countries reaching the sea port and land port. Only children below five years of age are exempted from the test.

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