Centre revises COVID-19 rules for international flyers; no mandatory 7-day home quarantine, ‘at risk’ nations category removed

The new guidelines issued by the health ministry will come into effect from 14 February

FP Staff|Feb 10, 2022, 13:27:15 IST

India on Thursday issued new guidelines for international travellers, which will come into effect from 14 February.The change in guidelines comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are reducing and there’s an improvement in the infection rate across the world.

India reported 67,084 new COVID-19 cases and 1,241 related deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am, Thursday. The active caseload in the country dipped to 7,90,789, from Wednesday’s 8.92 lakh. The daily positivity rate also saw a slight decrease from 4.54 per cent to 4.44 per cent on Thursday.The new rules, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has scrapped the mandatory seven-day home quarantine.Read the guidelines in full HERERevised Guidelines for International Arrivals by Roshneesh K'Maneck on Scribd

According to the new rules, the passengers will have to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival and isolate in case they develop symptoms of COVID-19.Furthermore, the ‘at-risk’ tag for countries has also been removed."Accordingly, the need for giving samples on port of arrival and waiting till the result is obtained from countries ‘at-risk’ is dispensed with," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also said that the random sampling of 2 per cent of International Travellers from all countries on arrival will continue."Travellers can give samples and are allowed to leave the airport. Need for undertaking RT-PCR test on eighth day and uploading the same on Air Suvidha portal is dispensed with," he added.As per the guidelines, people who are travelling to India should submit complete and factual information in the self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha Portal ( ) before the scheduled travel, including travel details of the last 14 days.International flyers must also upload a negative RT-PCR test that was conducted within 72 hours of the travel date.Alternatively, they can also upload a certificate confirming they have received both vaccine doses.The guidelines also stated that only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board, and COVID-appropriate behaviour, including the use of face masks and practicing of social distancing, must be followed during the flight.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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