Muscat: Passengers flying to India from Oman and all other countries have to enter mandatory home quarantine on arrival, per new guidelines issued by the Indian government.
The latest procedures published by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) on 7 January calls for all passengers from countries not deemed ‘at risk’ to undergo a week-long home quarantine, followed by a subsequent PCR test on the eighth day since their arrival.
“A sub-section (two percent of the total flight passengers) shall undergo post-arrival testing at random at the airport on arrival,” said the MOHFW guidelines. “These two percent of such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the concerned airlines (preferably from different countries).
“All travellers, including those two percent who were selected for random testing on arrival and were found negative, will undergo home quarantine for seven days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India,” added the ministry.
India’s list of at-risk countries includes 18 nations, as well as all countries in Europe, including the UK, with arrivals from these countries needing to follow additional procedures on arrival.
These countries include South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Zambia.
Passengers coming from these countries will need to take an additional self-paid PCR test on arrival in India, and just like those coming from destinations not deemed ‘at-risk’, will need to quarantine at home for seven days and take a further PCR test on the eighth day.
“Travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 done on the eighth day, on the Air Suvidha portal,” added MOHFW. “If negative, they will further self-monitor their health for next seven days.
“However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at the INSACOG laboratory network,” the ministry went on to say. “They shall be managed at isolation facilities and treated as per laid down standards.”
The uploading of follow-up PCR tests will be monitored by state/union territory authorities.
If travellers under home quarantine or self-health monitoring develop signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 on re-testing, they will immediately self-isolate and report to their nearest health facility. They can also call the national helpline number (1075), or the given state helpline numbers.
International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol as above, except that the facility for online registration is not available for such passengers. They are therefore required to submit the self-declaration form to the concerned authorities of the Government of India at seaports/land ports on arrival.
Thermal screening of all passengers is being carried by the health officials present at the airport. Self-declaration forms filled online must be shown to the airport health staff.
Passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to medical facilities, per health protocols. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed as well. Contacts of those suspected of COVID-19 are their co-passengers seated in the same row, and those seated up to three rows both in front and behind them, along with identified cabin crew.
All community contacts of those travellers who have tested positive, during their home quarantine period, will also be subject to quarantine for 14 days and tested per ICMR protocol.
Children under five years of age are exempt from both pre- and post-arrival testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival, or during home quarantine, they shall undergo testing and treatment.
