In the wake of rising cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus, The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation is exercising more caution with regard to international travellers.
On Wednesday, the BMC issued a notification for arrivals landing in Mumbai from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) including Dubai.
As per the notification, the arrivals will have to undergo seven days home quarantine after arriving in Mumbai and on arrivals the RT-PCR test shall be also mandatory for all such passengers.
The decision was taken after Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner IS Chahal chaired a virtual meeting with civic officials, deans and medical superintendents of hospitals.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Environment and Tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar and BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal met to discuss the prevailing coronavirus situation in the city.
On December 24, the civic administration had made RT-PCR tests mandatory for passengers landing here from Dubai, which has now been extended to the entire UAE, it said.
"At the airport, regular RT-PCR tests should be performed on patients found to be infected with Covid-19 in the rapid test. If the test is negative, then segregation should be done as per prevailing rules.
If the test is positive then the decision should be taken for isolation or hospitalization as per the prevailing rules. Samples of regular RT-PCR tests should be sent for genome sequencing," the release informed.
What are the guidelines for high-risk passengers and domestic arrivals?
Passengers arriving from high-risk countries need to undergo RT-PCR tests on arrival at the respective international airports and shall undergo mandatory 7-day “institutional quarantine” with a second test to be carried out on the seventh day.
If the tests are found positive, the passenger shall be shifted to a hospital with COVID-19 treatment facilities. However, if the test is negative, the passenger will have to undergo home quarantine for more 7 days.
Domestic passengers are required to be fully vaccinated or carry an RT-PCR negative certificate that is no more than 72 hours old.
