International travellers may seek exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 2

International travellers arriving in India may be exempted from going through mandatory institutional quarantine provided they submit a negative RT-PCR report on arrival, says the Ministry of Civil Aviation quoting heath ministry guidelines, which will come into effect from August 8, 2020.

In the guidelines the health ministry said, “Travellers may seek exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RTPCR test report on arrival. This test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey. The test report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration.”

Each passenger shall also submit a declaration “with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise”, it said, adding that the test report “could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry airport in India”.

Under the new guidelines all travellers “should submit self-declaration form on the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) at least 72 hours before the scheduled travel. “They should also give an undertaking on the portal that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days i.e. 7 days paid institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by 7 days isolation at home with self-monitoring of health,” the order said.

It further said only for compelling reasons/cases of human distress such as pregnancy, death in family, serious illness and parent(s) with children of the age of 10 years or below, home quarantine may be permitted for 14 days.

After arriving in the country and going through thermal screening in India, if a passenger tests positive, he or she shall be assessed clinically under these points: a. if the passenger is assessed as asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic/very mild cases, he or she will be allowed home isolation or isolated in the Covid Care Centre (both public & private facilities) as appropriate; b. those having mild/moderate/severe symptoms will be admitted to dedicated Covid Health facilities and managed accordingly.

“Furthermore, all passengers shall be advised to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices and only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board the flight after going through thermal screening.” 

Guidelines: