Union health minister Harsh Vardhan stated on Monday that for enabling the authorities to tackle coronavirus better, a self-declaration form will have to be filled out at the airport by all those who are flying into India.
The 'self reporting form', is issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The form contains columns for regular details like name, contact information, ID etc and flight number, the place of origin of the journey, final journey destination (in case he/she is staying in India for layover).
This self-declaration form containing personal contact information has to be submitted by all foreign and Indian nationals. In case a passenger or traveler fails to submit this information, he or she will be quarantined in case the passenger is an Indian and foreigners will face an entry ban.
Compulsory medical screening at ports of entry will be carried out for foreign and Indian travelers (other than those subject to the suspensions) arriving directly or indirectly from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The passengers will also be asked about if he or she has visited Wuhan and if yes then for how long and if a visit was made to the Wuhan seafood market apart from other cities visited in China.
Finally, the traveler has to declare if he/she is suffering from fever, cough or any other respiratory distress.
A certificate for testing negative will have to be provided by passengers travelling from Italy or Republic of Korea. The certificate will have to be obtained from designated laboratories authorized by health authorities.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a high-level meeting on coronavirus, Vardhan stressed on the need to voluntarily declare the travel history so that it becomes easier to check the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
However, exceptions to the travel suspension apply to diplomats, UN and other international organization officials, OCI cardholders and aircrew from China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea. They will however be required to undergo compulsory medical screening.
