India introduces new restrictions for travellers from Dubai

Mumbai residents arriving from Dubai must quarantine for seven days

India has introduced new Covid-19 travel restrictions in a bid to stem the spread of the Omicron variant. Frederic Soltan / Corbis

India has introduced new regulations for passengers arriving in the state of Maharastra.

As part of a series of new restrictions, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has issued an order making it mandatory for Mumbai residents arriving from Dubai to undergo a seven-day home quarantine. A PCR test must be taken on the seventh day and, if this is positive, individuals will be transferred to state-run quarantine facilities.

Passengers arriving in Mumbai, but travelling on to other cities in Maharashtra, are not required to quarantine. They cannot take public transport upon their arrival, however, and transportation from the airport will be arranged for them.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has also introduced new guidelines for international travellers arriving in Maharashtra. Non-vaccinated travellers travelling to Mumbai, Pune, Shirdi, Kolhapur or Nagpur must present a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours before travel. Passengers who fail to show a negative test result will not be allowed to board at their destination of departure.

Vaccinated passengers must present a certificate proving that they have received two doses of their vaccine. In very exceptional cases, testing may be permitted at the airport on arrival in Mumbai. All arriving passengers will undergo thermal screening upon arrival. Symptomatic passengers will be sent to the nearest Covid care centre.

Domestic passengers arriving in Mumbai are not required to quarantine, unless they are displaying symptoms of Covid-19. Random sample collections will be undertaken for passengers arriving from states with a high prevalence of the Omicron variant. Passengers will only be allowed to leave the airport once these samples have been collected.

All arriving passengers must download the Aarogya Setu app.