Maharashtra government relaxes quarantine norms for international passengers: Here is what you should know

The ministry of civil aviation and the Maharashtra government on Thursday relaxed quarantine norms framed to prevent further transmission of covid-19 in the state. The move aims to reduce stress for passengers arriving at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). It will also help reduce the time taken by them to leave the airport. Some international passengers arriving at the airport can now skip the compulsory institutional quarantine, CSMIA said.  

“Concessions on quarantine regulations have been made for international passengers travelling because of an emergency and those who have undertaken an RT-PCR test within 96 hours of their journey. The initiative enables arriving passengers to fill the self-declaration form online at least 72 hours before their scheduled travel to be exempt from institutional quarantine," said CSMIA. 

Earlier, all inbound passengers had to undergo two stages of quarantine on arrival. This included a seven-day institutional quarantine followed by seven days of home quarantine. The new guidelines allow them to bypass the institutional quarantine by filling in the self-declaration form 72 hours before their journey. Passengers will have to upload proof of the negative RT-PCR test undertaken within 96 hours of the journey. 

In the event of any emergency such as pregnancy, death in the family, serious illness, and people with children below 10 years of age, home quarantine of 14 days will be considered legally sufficient, said CSMIA.  

The CSMIA has also created a green channel along with the Airport Health Organization (APHO) team for all arriving passengers who have filled the applications on the online portal. In the absence of an emergency or timely submission of the negative RT-PCR test on the portal, passengers will be subjected to the mandatory two-stage quarantine.