India introduces mandatory home quarantine for arriving passengers

Travelling to India from the UAE? India has introduced a mandatory seven-day quarantine for all international arrivals, including those coming from the United Aram Emirates. Those flying into the country will need to isolate at home, followed by a PCR test on the eighth day.

The new COVID-19 travel rules came into effect for international travellers arriving in India on Tuesday January 11. Prior to flying into India, all travellers will need to upload a negative RT-PCR report of a test conducted within 72 hours of the beginning of the journey.

All arrivals will undergo thermal screening. If you are symptomatic during screening, you will be isolated and taken to a medical facility. Two percent will also undergo post-arrival random testing at the airport.

After your seven day quarantine, you will need to do a RT-PCR test on the eighth day, which should then be uploaded on the Air Suvidha portal. If your test is negative, you can leave quarantine but should self-monitor your health for another seven days. Those who test positive will be kept at an isolation facility.

You might like: UAE announces travel ban on unvaccinated citizens

Children under five will not need to complete the pre- or post-arrival testing. However, if children are found symptomatic on arrival or during the home quarantine they will undergo testing.

There are additional measures for travellers coming from 20 countries: South Africa, Brazil, China, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Zambia. If you are travelling or connecting through one of these countries, you will need to test on arrival and must wait for the results in the airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.

Tue Jan 11 2022.