Omicron travel update: 10 states in India with COVID restrictions for domestic travellers

As COVID-19 infections register a rise across the country due to the Omicron variant, travel restrictions and health protocols have been put in place to prevent its spread.

With regard to this, the Union Home Ministry issued a general advisory for inter-state travel, and stated that there shall be no bar on inter-state travel by rail, air, road, or water. Also, as per the advisory, asymptomatic patients, who are fully vaccinated, could be exempted from showing a negative RT-PCR report during their travels, whereas those found symptomatic on arrival, will be subjected to Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). However, the Home Ministry has allowed states to impose restrictions, based on their local requirements.

So, here is a list of states that have implemented COVID-19 restrictions for domestic travellers.

Travellers travelling to Jammu and Kashmir will be required to show a mandatory negative RT-PCR report, which has not been taken prior to 72 hours of their arrival. Those who fail to do so will have to undergo a test upon arrival. Also, note that all those travellers arriving at the J&K airport will have to remain in institutional quarantine until their COVID-19 test result arrives. Defence personnel will be exempted from the said rules.

As per the latest guidelines, random sample collection will be carried out on passengers arriving in Delhi, especially those arriving from the states that have reported continuous rise COVID-19 cases.

All passengers will have to undergo thermal screening, whereas those found positive will have to undergo quarantine either at home or hospital for 10 days. All travellers will have to download the Aarogya Setu app, and no mandatory COVID-19 tests will be done.

All travellers entering Sikkim will have to mandatorily provide a negative RT-PCR report, which must have been conducted within 72 hours prior to the date of entry. Those who fail to provide the said reports will have to undergo RAT at Pakyong Airport and at all entry check posts.

As per the state’s latest guidelines, travellers arriving in Karnataka from Maharashtra, will have to undergo institutional quarantine for seven days, which will be followed by home quarantine for 14 days. Do note that home quarantine of 14 days will be mandatory for all travellers coming from other states too.

All incoming passengers will have to undergo thermal screening on arrival, and no mandatory COVID-19 test will be done for domestic travellers. Those who test positive will be required to undergo home quarantine for 14 days, where institutional quarantine is not required. Do note that anyone flying to Chandigarh, will be required to fill out a self-declaration form.

All passengers will undergo mandatory thermal screening on arrival. Those arriving from Maharashtra will have to provide a mandatory RT-PCR negative report, which has been conducted 72 hours prior to their journey. Those not able to provide the report will have to undergo the test. And those who test positive will be required to undergo 10 days of institutional quarantine.

All travellers will be required to show a negative COVID-19 test report, which should be no more than 48 hours old before arriving in Goa. Those who fail to do so will have to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test, which will cost passengers INR 2000.

Passengers arriving from Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test. Apart from this, passengers arriving from these states will also be required to undergo a mandatory 7-day institutional quarantine. However, those arriving from other regions, will have to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

All those entering the state from Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat will have to undergo COVID-19 tests upon arrival. And as regarding those arriving from other states, only symptomatic passengers will be required to test for COVID.

As per the latest guidelines of the state, random COVID-19 testing will be carried out on every fifth passenger arriving in Tripura. Those with international travel history in the past 28 days will have to undergo institutional quarantine until their COVID-19 test results are declared.