Covid-19 Omicron Variant: India Issues Revised Guidelines For International Travellers — Know Details

Passengers must complete a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha Portal prior to booking a flight and enter travel data from the previous 14 days.

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued new guidelines for overseas travellers arriving in India on Sunday, effective from December 1, in response to mounting concerns about the novel coronavirus variant Omicron.

Passengers must complete a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha Portal prior to booking a flight and enter travel data from the previous 14 days.

Negative RT-PCR test findings have to be uploaded to the Air Suvidha portal before the trip, according to the guidelines. The test should have been completed within 72 hours of leaving for the trip.

Travellers from 'countries at-risk' must take the COVID-19 test after arrival and wait for results at the airport, according to the health ministry's guidelines.

If they test negative, they will be placed in seven-day home quarantine. They must repeat the test after eight days, and if the results are negative, they must continue to self-monitor for the next seven days.

At the airport on arrival, a random subset of passengers (5 per cent of the total aircraft passengers) will be subjected to post-arrival testing.

The previous guidelines have been updated in light of the World Health Organization's classification of a new variation of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1.529; dubbed Omicron) as a 'Variant of Concern' on Friday, citing the fact that it has a high number of mutations (32), potentially making it more transmissible and hazardous. The WHO has given it the name Omicron, which is the Greek alphabet's 15th letter.

Omicron Variant Causes 'Mild Disease'

However, the South African Medical Association, had said that the novel Omicron version of the coronavirus causes moderate sickness with few symptoms.

Hospitals have not been swamped by Omicron patients, according to the official, and the new strain has not been discovered among vaccinated people. Those who have not been vaccinated, on the other hand, may face a different predicament.

Countries At-Risk

The United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel are among the 'countries at risk,' according to the Union Health ministry.