Amid the scare of the new Omicron variant first detected in South Africa, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday tightened rules for international travellers. The state has issued its own set of rules that are more stringent than that laid down by the Centre. As per the new rules, all international passengers travelling from ‘at-risk’ nations into the state will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine.
The order to place passengers into compulsory isolation facilities will come into effect immediately. Travellers will be required to pay for the quarantine at designated hotels, as per a media report. Earlier, six international passengers who travelled from ‘countries at-risk’ into Maharashtra have tested COVID-19 positive. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain if they are carrying the pathogen of Omicron.
The Maharashtra government has stated that the travel guidelines issued by the Centre on November 28 in view of ‘Omicron’ will act as ‘minimum restrictions’. The Central government had on Sunday issued revised guidelines for international travellers arriving from Europe including the UK and 11 other ‘at risk’ countries.
The high-risk countries include South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. As per the Central government guidelines, it is mandatory to undergo testing on arrival, home quarantine for seven days post a negative test result and a retest on the eighth day.
Travel guidelines at a glance
International passengers will be required to take RT-PCR tests thrice – on the second, fourth and seventh day after arrival.
If the RT-PCR test is positive, the person would be shifted to a hospital in the state.
If all test reports come negative, passengers still need to quarantine themselves for a further seven days at home.
Domestic air travellers coming into Maharashtra will also have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report.
The RT-PCR test report sample should be within 48 hours of arrival even if they are partially or fully vaccinated.
The Maharashtra government has also advised all districts to run S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test.
The S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test is a molecular tool for immediate identification of a suspected Omicron case.
Outbound passengers with a connecting flight from Maharashtra will undergo RT-PCR test at the airport.
