On 22nd December 2022, the Health Ministry released fresh covid guidelines for international passengers arriving in India amid the scare of new BF. 7 variants of the coronavirus. The decision of the Centre came soon after the rise of an unprecedented surge in covid cases in China and other countries. The protocols will be effective from 24th December 2022 till further notice. The rules will apply to passengers arriving in India through airports, land borders, and seaports.
Latest ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ By Union Health Ministry
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued the below guidelines for international travelers arriving on or after 24th December 2022.
- The passengers must be fully vaccinated according to the COVID-19 vaccination schedule issued by the Ministry of Health.
- Passengers with symptoms of COVID-19 should be wearing masks and immediately isolated, separated from other passengers during travel, and moved to an isolation facility for treatment.
- Proper physical distancing must be ensured during the deboarding of passengers.
- Thermal screening is necessary at the entry point, and symptomatic passengers must be immediately taken to the medical facility for isolation and treatment.
- Two percent of the passengers will go through random covid testing on arrival at the airport. The selection of passengers will be done by the concerned airlines, and their samples will be collected. The passengers tested positive for covid will be further sent to genome testing at the INSACOG laboratory network.
- Self-monitoring is mandatory for passengers post their arrival in India. However, they must contact the nearest health facility or call state or national helpline numbers (1075) if they have covid symptoms.
- Children below the age of 12 years are exempted from post-arrival random testing. However, if they have symptoms of covid, then they will be treated as per the standard protocol.
So, the students of MBBS in Russia planning to come to India must adhere to these Covid guidelines of the Central Government for their safety during the outbreak of the new Covid variant.
