14 days quarantine must for all foreign passengers in India

Anticipating a steady increase in passenger arrivals at international airports from Aug.1, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday reiterated that anyone travelling to India "shall give an undertaking, before boarding flights, that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days" upon reaching their destinations.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation released a full list of Phase V repatriation flights by the government-owned low cost carrier, Air India Express, The schedule, running all the way till the end of August includes a large number of flights from airports in the UAE and other GCC countries.

One week of this fortnight’s quarantine shall be at institutions, paid for by the passengers, followed by a second week of "isolation at home with self-monitoring of health."

In exceptional cases of human distress, serious illness, death in the family, pregnancy and parents flying in with children below 10 years of age, receiving states shall assess the situation and may permit home quarantine for the entire 14 days.

In such cases those under home quarantine will have to download India’s domestic health monitoring and tracking mobile application known as "Arogya Setu."

The rules for arriving travellers released today were originally drafted by India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the end of May, but have been reviewed and put out as the Ministry of Civil Aviation prepares to launch Phase V of its mission for repatriating Indian citizens, this time mostly from the GCC countries.

"On arrival, thermal screening would be carried out of all the passengers by health officials present at the airport. Passengers found to be symptomatic during the screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to medical facilities as per health protocol."

The reiteration by both ministries appears to have been prompted by cases, albeit rare, in which arriving passengers refused to undergo screening upon landing or to proceed for institutional quarantine.

WAM