By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Monday revised its international travel advisory providing various exemptions for Indians, mostly students, evacuated from Ukraine.
They have been exempted from uploading mandatory pre-boarding negative RT-PCR test reports and vaccination certificates on the Air-Suvidha portal before departure.
“Indian nationals not fulfilling either of the mandatory requirements (pre-boarding negative RT-PCR test report or fully vaccinated certificate) as laid down in the present ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ have been exempted from uploading these documents on Air-Suvidha Portal before departure to India,” said Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal in a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary G. Balasubramanian.
“Further, individuals who have completed their COVID-19 vaccination (irrespective of the country of departure/vaccination) have been allowed to leave the arrival airport in India with the advice to self-monitor their health for the next 14 days,” the letter said.
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In case a traveler is not able to submit a pre-arrival RT-PCR test or who has not completed their Covid-19 vaccination, he/she will be asked to submit their samples on arrival with the advice to continue to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival in India. “If tested positive, they shall be clinically managed as per laid down protocol,” it said.
The revised travel advisory was issued after a request was received from MEA on February 25 to relax the travel advisory for the stranded Indians in Ukraine, and those evacuated by the Indian government. The step was taken on humanitarian grounds, the ministry said.
Till February 28 noon, 1,156 Indians have returned in five flights – one in Mumbai and four in Delhi. None of them were kept under isolation so far, the ministry said.
The ministry said they are lending all support to the MEA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Ministry of Home in the possible evacuation of Indians stranded in Ukraine.
