E-Paper
India makes RT-PCR test mandatory for people travelling from these countries
The ministry of civil aviation said that the guidelines for international arrivals have been revised in the wake evolving trajectory of Covid-19 cases and circulation of variants of Sars-Cov-2 in some countries.
India on Friday issued fresh travel guidelines making RT-PCR test mandatory from January 1 for people coming in from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The ministry of civil aviation said that the guidelines for international arrivals have been revised in the wake evolving trajectory of Covid-19 cases and circulation of variants of Sars-Cov-2 in some countries. The travellers from these countries have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR testing conducted 72 hours before their departure.
“A mandatory requirement for pre-departure RT-PCR testing (to be conducted 72 hrs prior to undertaking the journey) is being introduced for passengers in all international flights from China, Singapore, Hong King, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan,” the release said.
The existing practice of post-arrival random RT-PCR testing of 2% of international travellers irrespective of their source airport will continue, the ministry added.
Self-declaration on Air-Suvidha portal has been made operational for passengers travelling from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Japan. The travellers will be able to upload negative RT-PCR test reports and submit a self-declaration form on the Air-Suvidha portal.
The ministry has directed the airlines to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the above changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from the listed high-risk countries who have submitted self-declaration form on the Air-Suvidha portal.
A slew of countries are tightening measures for travellers from China, concerned the tsunami of virus cases there may spawn new Covid variants. Several countries took similar steps this week, especially in increasing scrutiny on people coming from China over fears that the country may not be monitoring Sars-CoV-2 variants adequately, although the situation in most parts of the world – especially India – is stable and presents no cause for worry.
