In response to plummeting Covid-19 cases, the India government has updated the guidelines for international travelers. The government has announced that it has waived the requirement of pre-departure Covid-19 tests and uploading it on ‘Air Suvidha’ portal.
The Union Civil Aviation Ministry announced in a statement that the updated regulations will take effect from 11 am on Monday (February 13, 2023). However, the practice of random testing of 2% of all travelers to India (irrespective of their nation of origin) upon arrival will continue.
In December last year, India had made the updated regulations for travelers arriving from or passing through China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Japan. These regulations were implemented after a sudden increase in Covid-19 cases were noted in China and some other nations. The ministry has made it clear that the guidelines are now amended because, in the last 4 weeks, the six countries aforementioned witnessed a “sustained and significant decline in the trajectory of Covid-19 cases”.
