Delhi airport has decided to set up a COVID-19 testing facility at the International Airport Terminal 3 for the international arriving passengers. The facility will be set up opposite the Terminal 3 at the multi-level car parking area for the incoming passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the company that runs Delhi airport, has collaborated with Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, a Delhi-based laboratory, which is currently associated with Delhi government to test COVID-19 samples to conduct the tests.
The earlier SOP for international arriving passengers with further connected domestic flight required a negative COVID-19 test result done 96-hour before entering India. However, a recent modification in the SOP brings relief to thousands of travellers entering India and eliminates the mandatory 96-hour COVID-19 test.
Instead, a passenger can get the test done at the airport itself for a fee of Rs 5,000 as mentioned in a report. The fees include waiting room charges as the results can take upto 6 hours to arrive.
The Civil Aviation Ministry had on Wednesday said that international passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights after landing in India will have the option of getting themselves tested for COVID-19 at the entry airports. If the RT-PCR test result is negative, the international passenger will be allowed to board his or her connecting domestic flight and he or she will not need to undergo any institutional quarantine, the ministry’s order said.
The DIAL’s press release said, “Results of samples collected at the laboratory will be declared within 4-6 hours to the incoming passengers. Until the results are confirmed, passengers will be isolated at the waiting lounge or may opt to stay in a hotel."
“Constructed in 3,500 square meter area at multi-level car parking (MLCP) of Terminal 3, this is the first such arrangement among Indian airports," it noted. An international passenger who does not have a COVID-negative result certificate from a test done not more than 96 hours prior to the journey, and does not opt for an on-arrival testing facility at the entry airport, will have to compulsorily undergo seven-day institutional quarantine followed by seven-day home quarantine.
On August 2, the Union Health Ministry had said if an international passenger has a negative result from an RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey, he or she will not need to undergo institutional quarantine in India.
With Inputs from PTI.
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