Passengers travelling from 11 countries will not have to quarantine from today
It applies to passengers who have been completely vaccinated and have produced an RT-PCR report upon arrival.
The Indian government has issued guidelines that will allow fully vaccinated international travellers from 11 countries to avoid home quarantine upon arrival in India.
Travelers arriving from a nation with which India has reciprocal agreements for mutual acceptance of WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccines would not need to self-isolate, but would need to demonstrate a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test, according to the recommendations announced on October 20.
Before boarding passengers, all airlines will have to review the test report.
The UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary, and Serbia are among the 11 nations with whom India has signed agreements.
"In view of increasing vaccination coverage across the globe and the changing nature of the pandemic, the existing guidelines for international arrivals in India have been reviewed," stated the Union's Ministry of Health on last Wednesday.
Travellers arriving from these countries who are completely vaccinated and have been on the COVID-19 vaccination schedule for 15 days will be allowed to leave the airport and will be required to self-monitor their health for 14 days following their arrival, according to the amended recommendations.
Before departing for a travel, all passengers should complete a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal and upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report. According to the instructions, this test should have been completed within 72 hours of embarking on the tour.
Each passenger must also sign a declaration attesting to the report's validity, or face criminal prosecution if the report is proved to be false.
The Union health ministry stated that current instructions for overseas arrivals from these nations supersede any previous guidelines issued on the subject on or after February 17, 2021.
Travellers from countries that are not considered at-risk will be subjected to a test upon arrival at the airport, a seven-day home quarantine, and a second test on the eighth day of arrival. Travellers from the 11 exempted nations will be subject to the same protocol, whether they are partially vaccinated or not.
Those arriving from at-risk nations such as South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe would be required to adhere to additional health ministry regulations.
