The Indian government has recently announced that international travellers from six countries (Singapore, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Japan) will no longer need to take a COVID-19 test or fill out the “Air Suvidha” form before arrival. However, 2% of travellers may still be randomly tested at the airport.
The Union Health Secretary has written a letter to the Secretary of Aviation explaining the update in guidelines. The letter mentions that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is constantly updating its guidelines for international arrivals and that the previous requirement of COVID-19 testing and the self-health declaration was put in place due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and mutant variants of the virus.
Recently, the said countries have seen a decline in COVID-19 cases, and globally, there has been an 89% decrease in newly confirmed cases over the past 28 days. India has also seen a declining trajectory of new cases being reported.
Due to these reasons, pre-departure COVID-19 testing and the self-health declaration will no longer be necessary for travelers from these countries. However, the 2% random testing will still be in place to monitor any potential infections from mutated virus variants. The updated guidelines will go into effect on Monday, February 13, 2023, at 11:00 am.
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