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Covid-19: Kerala to change quarantine rules for expats

Dubai - The revision of quarantine regulations to highly benefit Keralite travellers from the UAE.

The government of Kerala is now considering doing away with mandatory quarantine for non-resident Keralites who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Khaleej Times has learnt.

A top official with Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) said on condition of anonymity that the state government has taken into consideration a proposal from GCC community groups that all individuals with ‘vaccination certification’ need not undergo quarantine upon arrival in Kerala. The representation was submitted to the officials at Norka and Health Secretary of the government of Kerala.

“We will arrive at a decision in a day or two and a public statement will be made after,” said the source. The new regulations are being mulled over after the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced the revision of travel guidelines for international travellers late on Wednesday night. Currently, Kerala requires all asymptomatic incoming passengers to mandatorily undergo a seven-day home quarantine, which will be followed by a Covid-19 test from a laboratory nearest to their home in Kerala.

“They can be tested on the seventh day after arrival and if tested negative, further quarantine of seven days is optional and not mandatory, though a 14-day quarantine is desirable as per health protocol,” Dr A Jayathilak, Department of Revenue and Disaster Management Principal Secretary, told Khaleej Times in an earlier interview.

The revision of quarantine regulations is set to highly benefit Keralite travellers from the UAE as over 40 per cent of the country’s population has now been inoculated. The UAE offers four vaccines — Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V and the Indian-manufactured AstraZeneca.

‘PCR negative test now mandatory from UAE to India’

Furthermore, as per the new regulations set by the MoCA, all flyers will have to carry a recent Covid-negative report before boarding any flight to India, except in extraordinary circumstances like a death in a family.

Travellers must also upload their Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result on India’s Air Suvidha portal prior to their travel. India’s budget carrier Air India Express also tweeted the reforms in travel regulations for UAE travellers on its Twitter page on Thursday.

“As per the new guidelines of the MoCA for passengers arriving in India, boarding will only be allowed for those who have filled in the Self Declaration Form on Air Suvidha portal and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report. The new rule will be effective from February 22,” tweeted Air India Express.

“Passengers arriving from or transiting through flights originating from the Middle East shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned,” the airline explained. Furthermore, entry made in the self-reporting form regarding telephone number and address would be reconfirmed.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com