Health min eases travel rules for Indians being evacuated from Ukraine

They can board flights without a negative RT-PCR negative test report or a full-vaccination certificate

Health ministry has revised the mandatory international travel guidelines for all Indians being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine which is under invasion from Russia, allowing them to board flights without a negative RT-PCR negative test report or a full-vaccination certificate.

The health ministry said in a statement the mandatory international travel guidelines have been revised on humanitarian grounds.

“The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in close collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Home Affairs is lending all support possible in evacuating Indians from Ukraine,” a press statement said.

Indian nationals are also exempted from uploading documents before departure on Air-Suvidha Portal.

Individuals who have completed their Covid-19 vaccination, irrespective of the country of departure or 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 health ministry said.

In case a traveler is not able to submit a pre arrival RT PCR test or has not completed their Covid-19 vaccination, the government has allowed them to submit their samples on arrival.

As on February 28, some 1,156 Indians from Ukraine have arrived in India with none of the passengers kept under isolation.

As a large diaspora of Indians, mostly students, find themselves embroiled in the political turmoil being faced by Ukraine, direct evacuation through flights could not be carried out in view of the notice to airmen or notice toair missions issued in the country.

Indian missions in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary have been making arrangements to get Indian nationals from Ukraine and fly them out of their respective countries under Operation Ganga Flights.

On February 10, the health ministry in view of declining Covid cases had relaxed the international travel guidelines with no mandatory 7-day isolation or compulsory RT-PCR testing for fully vaccinated.

Government had also removed the demarcation of countries ‘at-risk’ and  other countries. With this the requirement of giving samples on port of arrival and waiting till the result is obtained from countries ‘at-risk’ was done away with.

India reported 8,013 new cases in the last 24 hours as of Monday morning. The weekly test positivity rate in the country currently stands at 1.17 per cent and the daily positivity rate is reported to be 1.11 per cent.