New SOP for International Travellers, Valid till 10th Jan

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have issued SOPs for the precautions that need to be taken for international flights, with regard to the new variant of COVID-19 virus. These SOPs were shared by Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Twitter. He tweeted, "All health precautions will be taken. SOPs have been issued by @MoHFW_INDIA. Passengers will be tested both before boarding & upon arrival in India. Details are attached herewith. These are valid till 30 Jan 2021."

Here is what the new SOP says: 

1. All the international travellers, travelling from the United Kingdom to India will be required to declare their travel history of the last 14 days. They will have to further submit the declaration on the online portal www.newdelhiairport.in, at least 72 hours before the scheduled travel. 

2. The passengers who will arrive in India from the UK will have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report, which should be obtained 72 hours prior to the journey. It is also needed to be uploaded in the portal.

3. After arriving at the Indian airports, all the passengers will have to undergo self-paid RT-PCR tests. In the case of positive test results, passengers will be isolated in an institutional isolation facility in a separate (isolation) unit coordinated by the respective state health authorities. 

4. Along with the infected passenger, the passenger seated in the same row of the patient, three rows in front and three rows behind would also be subjected to institutional quarantine in separate quarantine centres.

5. The passengers who are found negative of coronavirus would be advised to for home quarantine for 14 days. 

6. If in this case, the genomic sequencing indicates the presence of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 then the patient will continue to remain in a separate isolation unit. 

7. The State and Union Territory Governments are requested to set up Help Desk at airports.