India's new norms for int'l flyers: No quarantine if Covid-19 negative

No institutional quarantine for those with negative Covid-19 test result

International passengers arriving in the country can now seek an exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative Covid-19 test result. The RT-PCR test would need to be taken 96 hours before the flight and result will have to be uploaded on Delhi airport website, the Union health ministry said in its new guidelines. 

The guidelines will come into effect from August 8. All passengers arriving in India are required to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days – first seven days paid institutional quarantine, followed by as many days of home isolation with self-monitoring of health as per existing guidelines. While travellers coming to India would still be req­uired to undergo 14 days of qu­ar­antine, they now have an option of skipping institutional quarantine on submission of negative test certificate.

“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 in India,” the ministry said.