Omicron alert: New rules for international travellers arriving in India

People arriving in India by flights from countries where the new strain of Coronavirus – Omicron – has been detected, will have to follow certain entry rules. India announced this to check any spread of the new strain amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

All international passengers coming to India must fill a self-declaration form and show a negative RT-PCR test report. Those coming from “at-risk” countries such as South Africa have to give samples for RT-PCR testing after reaching India. Anyone found positive will be quarantined and the sample will be sent for genome sequencing, which checks the make-up of an organism. If the person is infected with Omicron strain, there will be stricter quarantine rules.

Those from “at-risk” countries who test negative will have to be in home quarantine for seven days. They will be tested again on Day 8.

In addition, there will be random sampling of people for RT-PCR tests if they are arriving from countries that are being considered presently not at risk. For anyone found positive among these random samplings, the sample will be sent for genome sequencing and the person will be quarantined. Even those coming from countries currently being considered not at risk who are testing negative are being advised to monitor themselves carefully for at least two weeks.