Six international passengers from “countries at-risk” have tested positive for Covid-19 in Maharashtra, the state government on Tuesday tightened rules for international travellers, making institutional quarantine of seven days compulsory for all coming from these countries.
Domestic air travellers coming into Maharashtra will also have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report – sample tested within 48 hours of arrival – irrespective of their vaccination status.
With an eye on reports from across the world about Omicron, the new Covid-19 “variant of concern”, the Union government had on Sunday issued revised guidelines for international travellers arriving from Europe – including the UK, and 11 other “at risk” countries – mandating testing on arrival, home quarantine for seven days post a negative test result, and a retest on the eighth day.
The state also issued its own set of rules for international travellers, that are more stringent than the rules released by the Centre to ensure all preventative measures are being taken to ensure there is no occurrence of a third wave in Maharashtra.
The new rules state that international passengers from at risk countries will have undergo mandatory institutional quarantine and RT-PCR tests on Day 2, 4 and 7. If a test returns positive, the person will be shifted to a hospital. Even if all test reports come negative, passengers still need to quarantine themselves for a further seven days at home.
