Representational image of passengers arriving at Chennai International Airport | Photo Credit: Velankanni Raj B
Visitors to India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will no longer be required to submit pre-departure COVID-19 test reports and upload self-health declaration on the ‘Air Suvidha’ portal from February. 13.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the Center has taken this decision as these countries have been witnessing a sustained and significant decline in Covid-19 cases in the last four weeks.
In a letter sent to his counterpart Rajiv Bansal in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Mr Bhushan said on Thursday that his ministry is updating its ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ in view of the decline in COVID-19 cases.
Moreover, according to the latest situational update on COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, an 89% decline in the number of new confirmed cases has been reported globally in the last 28 days as compared to the 28 days before that, he said. .
Covid-19 cases continue to decline in India, with less than 100 new cases being reported a day.
“In view of the above, this Ministry is updating its ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’, and doing away with the existing requirements of pre-departure COVID-19 testing and self-reporting on the ‘Hawai Suvidha’ portal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Uploading of health declaration.For international travelers arriving from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan, the letter said.
For surveillance of infection due to mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 among international travelers to India, the current process of random testing of two per cent passengers on arrival in India, irrespective of their country of origin, will continue.
The Ministry of Health, as a part of its proactive yet graded public health response to COVID-19 management, has been updating the ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ from time to time.