Crowds and long queues were seen at the Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier this week, when the new testing guidelines were introduced for passengers from ‘at risk’ countries, in the wake of concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Express photo) Three more passengers from the UK were referred to Lok Nayak Hospital, taking the number of passengers from ‘at risk’ countries placed in isolation to 15. “Now there are 15 people being isolated at Lok Nayak of whom 9 are Covid positive. Their genome sequencing results are awaited,” said MD Dr Suresh Kumar.
Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has set up 20 dedicated counters for passengers from ‘at risk’ countries who have pre-booked their Covid tests. Separate queues will be arranged for these passengers and this is likely to smoothen the process.
Crowds and long queues were seen at the Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier this week, when the new testing guidelines were introduced for passengers from ‘at risk’ countries, in the wake of concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Passengers will be able to pay online and pre-book the test from the originating airport, using the Air Suvidha portal of the Delhi airport. Around 80% of international passengers arriving at the airport from ‘at risk’ countries opt for rapid PCR tests, according to a statement from the airport.
Countries that are categorised as ‘at risk’ include South Africa, Brazil, the UK, Mauritius, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, Botswana and China. Passengers arriving from these countries are mandatorily required to get themselves tested at the airport and can leave only after they get their results. Five per cent of passengers arriving from other countries will be randomly subjected to Covid testing.
DIAL will also provide free RT-PCR tests for 2 per cent of international travellers arriving from countries other than those categorised as ‘at risk.’ An RT-PCR test costs Rs 500 and results can take 6 to 8 hours. Rapid PCR tests cost Rs 3,500 and results are available in 60 to 90 minutes.
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