How important is a COVID test before you travel to India?

Posted by RICK HUDSON on December 29th, 2020

It has been 2 months since commercial flights resumed operation in India, but International flights have always been in operation under the VandeBharat mission, and bilateral air bubble arrangements made with the UK, USA and some other countries.

To ensure the safety of its people, the government of India in May put in place strict quarantine policies which state that international travellers are to be placed on a mandatory 7-day institutional quarantine followed by another 7-day self-isolation.

All these changed in August when the COVID-19 RT-PCR test was adopted as a confirmatory test in the country. See more details below.

What exactly is RT-PCR

With RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase – Polymerase chain reaction), individuals with connecting commercial flights can avoid the 7-day quarantine as long as they present a negative COVID test taken 96 hours before departure. At the entry of the airport, you would be asked to present a COVID-19 negative PCR test certificate after which you would be free to proceed without undergoing any quarantine.

Is the RT-PCR test mandatory for your trip?

The truth is that this test isn’t mandatory for Individuals travelling to India and also for those that are willing to undergo the 7-day mandatory quarantine window.

In connecting flights, the RT-PCR test is mandatory for people who want to take commercial flights to a domestic destination. The mandatory quarantine can also be avoided by seeking an exemption.

Apart from Negative RT-PCR test, what other ways can you avoid institutional quarantine?

There are five other ways in which exemption will be granted to an individual;

• Pregnant ladies
• Loss of a loved one
• COVID PCR test taken 72 hours before infection
• Guardians with children below 10 years
• Serious illness

Where to Show your RT-PCR report

Those listed above can visit the airport at least 72 hours before flight to fill an exempt form.Once you fill the form in the above link, you would not need to present any documents to the airport authorities.

Once you fill the form, a rejection or acceptance letter would be mailed to you, and the airport authorities would be informed accordingly.

In the case of a ‘reject.’

If the situation that the application gets rejected, the applicant would have to undergo the 7-day mandatory quarantine at the stated cost.

What if the RT-PCR report comes late

In the situation where a PCR report arrives late, an exemption form is filled with proof that a COVID test has been done 72 hours prior to departure. At the destination, you can present the negative COVID certificate result once it’s out.

Can the RT-PCR test be taken at the airport destination and at what cost?

There are a total of 2 Indian airports that offer on-arrival RT-PCR tests; Indira Gandhi International airport (DEL) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM). Other airports require mandatory COVID-19 certificates.

A starting fee of INR 5000 is charged at the Delhi airport for the PCR test and the time spent at the airport lounge till the reports are ready. Genestrings diagnostic centre handles the testing services while premium plaza handles the lounge.

Can the RT-PCR test be booked ahead of time?

For pre-booking, you can visit the Delhi website to book a slot for your COVID PCR test. The pre-booking must be done an hour before arrival and 4-6 hour before departure. For those arriving at Mumbai, you can pre-book online on the IMCR-approved suburban diagnostic laboratory website.

Delhi airport- Getting tested

RT-PCR testing is done at the walk-in COVID testing centre at Terminal -3 of the Delhi airport.

At an affordable cost, you can book a test an hour before arrival. This cost doesn’t include the money for Lounge services.

Your passport would be held by state reps until test results are out. You would be directed to your lounge where you would stay pending result release which should be mailed or given to you 4- 6 hours after testing. Connecting flights should be booked 6 to 8 hours apart.

Once the result comes out negative, an ‘RT-PCR negative’ stamp is put on the certificate, and you would be allowed to continue your journey while those that turn out positive would be transported to the isolation centre.

For your RT-PCR test in London, do well to call us on 020 37457527 for more enquires.