Amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases, the Central government on Friday announced a seven-day mandatory home quarantine for all international arrivals in the country.
Travellers from specified countries at risk will at first, submit a sample for the post-arrival COVID-19 test at the point of arrival and wait for the results, the costs will be borne by the travellers.
‘If tested negative they will follow, home quarantine for seven days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India. Travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test for COVID-19 done on eighth day on Air Suvidha portal. 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 INSACOG laboratory network,’ as per the order issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
‘They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing mentioned. The contacts of such positive case should be kept under home quarantine monitored strictly by the concerned State Government as per laid down protocol’
‘All travellers (including those two per cent 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. Travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test for COVID-19 done on eighth day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs). 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 INSACOG laboratory network. They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing,’ the Health Ministry statement added.
Children under five years of age are exempted from both pre and post-arrival testing.
As per the Health ministry, the global trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic is on the decline, but the need to monitor the continuously changing nature of the virus and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) must still remain in focus.
Meanwhile, India reported 1,17,100 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with 3,007 cases of Omicron, of which 1,199 have recovered.