NEW DELHI: Passengers coming to India from or via Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and China will from 11 am on Monday (February 13) neither require a negative report from a pre-departure Covid test, nor need to upload self-health declaration on “air suvidha” portal.
However, the 2% random testing on arrival in India — irrespective of country of origin — will continue.
The Union health ministry revised the rules for people coming from or via these places after these six places saw a “sustained and significant decline in trajectory of Covid-19 cases” in the last four weeks.
“Further, as per World Health Organisation's latest situational update on Covid-19, a decline of 89% in the number of newly confirmed cases in the past 28 days has been noted globally as compared to 28 days prior to that. Meanwhile, India has continued to witness a declining trajectory, with less than 100 new cases/day being reported,” Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to his aviation ministry counterpart Rajiv Bansal on Thursday.
This will come as big relief to the travel industry as the testing norm had affected travel between India and these places. Thailand, for instance, has seen Indians emerge as the biggest source for inbound tourists post Covid as China is yet to open up.
Similarly, a significant amount of travel happens between all these six places except China which is yet to open up and Hong Kong which is yet to return to pre-Covid arrivals norms. Apart from being tourist magnets for desis, all these places have a significant Indian diaspora.
India has been updating the norms for international arrivals based on the pandemic situation. The country started conducting Covid testing for 2% international arrivals from December 24, 2022. Then a few days later, pre-departure RT-PCR testing and air suvidha self declarations as made mandatory for passengers coming from/via China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand due to a surge in Covid cases in these places.
“Health ministry as a part of its proactive yet graded public health response to Covid-19 management has been updating guidelines for international arrivals from time to time. In the last update, based on increasing trajectory of Covid-19 and circulation of mutant variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus in some Countries, this ministry had mandated requirements of pre-departure Covid-19 testing and uploading of self-health declaration on aviation ministry's air suvidha portal… (The changed rules dropping these requirements) shall come into practice with effect from 11 am on February 13, 2023,” Bhushan’s letter says.
“In order to monitor infections due to mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 among international travellers to India, the present exercise of random testing of 2% travellers to India (irrespective of country of origin) upon arrival India shall continue,” it adds.
