Statesfinallyclearairforanxiousflyers India now among 10 worst countries in Covid-19 cases

AIR TRAVEL Passengers will have to wade through labyrinth of state-specific rules

nNEW DELHI: Air travel across the country was set to resume on Monday, with all states finally agreeing to accept at least some flights but announcing varied quarantine and self-isolation rules for arriving passengers to address misgivings about infections being brought in from other cities.

Instead of following the national guidelines issued by the Union government for all departing and disembarking passengers, many of the states chose to set their own rules: Karnataka, for instance, requires mandatory institutional quarantine for passengers from worst-affected states, while Punjab and Meghalaya have made a swab test mandatory for arrivals.

Several states said passengers will be taken to a facility only if they show symptoms of fever or cough — in line with Union government guidelines released on Sunday — while several among them decided to additionally mandate or suggest self-isolation for either 14 or 28 days, even if a traveller is asymptomatic.

Some other states, such as Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, said that only state residents will be allowed to enter the city from the airports.

The announcements came a day after three states — Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu — requested the Union government to reconsider the decision to allow domestic flight oper

All passengers to undergo thermal screening; only asymptomatic people can board flights

Passengers advised to download Aarogya Setu

Face masks mandatory throughout travel

People with symptoms to be taken to health facility. Decision on home or institutional quarantine will depend on severity of symptoms and test result

All passengers advised to monitor their health for 14 days after travel, inform authorities if they develop symptoms

DELHI

will adhere to guidelines set by the Union health ministry on domestic travel

DEATHS

nNEW DELHI: With the highest oneday national surge of 6,634 new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, India on Sunday overtook Iran to become the 10th biggest hot spot of the pathogen, which has rapidly swept the globe, claiming new epicentres across continents and leaving health care systems overwhelmed in its wake.

The number of Covid-19 cases in the country stood at 138,474 on Sunday, nearly doubling over the course of 13 days, even as graded relaxations in the fourth phase of the national lockdown were likely to push up the contagion over the coming days.

New Covid-19 cases dropped to zero for the first time on Saturday in China, the country where the pandemic originated, but surged in India and ravaged South America. Experts say that in countries with weak health care systems and impoverished populations, fighting the virus has proven to be difficult.

Latin America has become the latest epicentre of the highly contagious disease. Brazil and Mexico reported record numbers of infections and deaths almost daily this week, fuelling criticism of their governments for limited lockdowns. India’s rate of new Covid-19 cases appears to be tracking that of Brazil. The country’s daily case count on Sunday was where Brazil’s stood about 15 days ago. 10

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