Test for flyers from high-risk areas

Test for flyers from high-risk areas

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:01.04.2021

Based on the latest guidelines issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), domestic passengers arriving from high-risk states at Indira Gandhi International Airport will be randomly tested for Covid-19.

“After collection of the samples, the passengers will be allowed to exit. However, those found positive shall be mandatorily quarantined either at their place of stay, a government facility or at a hospital, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare protocol,” said the Delhi airport in a statement.

While it is currently not mandatory for flyers to carry an RT-PCR report for domestic travel to Delhi, the airport officials clarified that while testing was being done randomly, those who did have a negative report could present it to the government authorities to seek exemption. “If chosen, and one is carrying a report, it can be presented to seek exemption. It will be up to the discretion of the authorities to take another sample or not,” said the official.

The new guidelines dated March 23 are not just applicable to the airport, but railway stationsISBTs and other alighting points for private buses too. If a passenger is found positive, they will have to be quarantined for 10 days.

An official at Genestrings Diagnostic, the lab currently taking samples at departures and arrivals for international passengers, said while their process to collect samples from international passengers would continue, no samples of domestic passengers were being brought over to their labs. “The government is doing this testing on its own. Our testing process remains the same,” the official said.