Centre issues fresh guidelines for international passengers arriving in India amidst COVID-19 situation

Centre said that the States can develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment post-arrival of passengers in the state concerned.

Photo: Twitter/@AAI_Official

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday (August 2, 2020) issued fresh guidelines for international passengers arriving amid prevailing COVID-19 situation.

This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs issued new guidelines 'Unlock 3' on August 1 for the opening up of more activities in areas outside the COVID-19 containment zones. 

The fresh guidelines for international passengers arriving at the Indian airports will be operational from August 8, 2020.

The new guidelines are as followed: 

Before planning for travel:

i. All travelers should submit self-declaration form on the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) at least 72 hours before the scheduled travel.

ii. 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.

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

iv. If they wish to seek such exemption under para (iii) above, they shall apply to the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) at least 72 hours before boarding. The decision taken by the government as communicated on the online portal will be final.

v. Travelers may also seek exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RTPCR test report on arrival. This test should have been conducted within 96 hrs 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 the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise. The test report could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry airport in India.

Planning to come back to India?

Here are some guidelines for you to keep in mind before planning your travel.

Visit https://t.co/Ly0qyWGe74 for the latest guidelines for international arrivals. #IndiaFliesHigh pic.twitter.com/97FxPxDW27 — MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) August 2, 2020

Before Boarding:

i. Dos and don'ts shall be provided along with the ticket to the travelers by the agencies concerned.

ii. All passengers shall be advised to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices.

iii. At the time of boarding the flight/ ship, only asymptomatic travelers will be allowed to board after the thermal screening.

iv. Passengers arriving through the land borders will also have to undergo the same protocol as above, and only those who are asymptomatic will be enabled to cross the border into India.

v. Suitable precautionary measures such as environmental sanitation and disinfection shall be ensured at the airports.

vi. During boarding and at the airports, all possible measures to ensure social distancing to be ensured.

During Travel:

i. Travelers who had not filled in self-declaration form on the portal shall fill the same in duplicate in the flight/ship and a copy of the same will be given to Health and Immigration officials present at the airport/ seaport/ Iandport. Alternatively, such travelers may submit self-declaration form on the online portal at arriving airport/ seaport/ Iandport as per the directions of the concerned authorities, if such facility is available. 

ii. Suitable announcement about COVID-19 including precautionary measures to be followed shall be made at airports/port and in flights/ships and during transit.

iii. While on board the flight/ship, required precautions such as wearing of masks, environmental hygiene, respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene etc are to be observed by airline/ship staff, crew and all passengers.

On arrival:

i. Deboarding should be done ensuring social distancing.

ii. Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the Health officials present at the airport/ seaport/ Iandport. The self-declaration form filled online shall be shown (or a copy of physical self-declaration form to be submitted) to the airport health staff.

iii. The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility as per health protocol.

iv. Post thermal screening, the passengers who have been exempted from institutional quarantine (decision as indicated on the online portal in advance) will show the same to the respective State Counters on their cell phones/other modes before being allowed home quarantine for 14 days.

v. The remaining passengers shall be taken to suitable institutional quarantine facilities, to be arranged by the respective State/ UT Governments.

vi. These passengers shall be kept under institutional quarantine for a minimum period of 7 days.

They shall be tested as per ICMR protocol available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Revisedtestingguidelines.pdf. 

If they test positive, they shall be assessed clinically:

a. If they are assessed as asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic/very mild cases, they 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.

If found negative, they shall be advised to further isolate themselves at home and self-monitor their health for 7 days.

vii. In case, any symptoms develop they shall inform the district surveillance officer or the state/national call center (1075).

The Union Government stated that the States can develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment post-arrival of passengers in the state concerned.

Meanwhile, the domestic operations have seen over 880 departures and around 89,120 passengers have been handled till August 1, which is the 70th day of the resumption of air services after COVID-19 halt. 

Domestic operations on a steady growth trajectory.

1st August 2020, Day 70 till 2359 hrs.
Departures 880
89,120 passengers handled.
Arrivals 878
86,185 passengers handled.

Total movements 1758
Footfalls at airports 175305
Total number of flyers 89,120 pic.twitter.com/3WJmkd3cJ6 — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 2, 2020

The Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday said that there have been 1,75,305 footfalls at airports, whereas, there have been a total of 89,120 flyers so far.