Thai tourists don’t need Covid proof to visit India from next week

Thai tourists don’t need to show a pre-departure Covid-19 test report or upload a self-health declaration form to visit India from next week.

From February 13, tourists from Thailand, along with those from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, will no longer have to provide any proof of a pre-departure Covid test or complete a self-health declaration form on the ‘Air Suvidha’ portal before visiting India.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reported that the Indian government has taken the decision as these countries have been witnessing a sustained and significant decline in the trajectory of Covid cases in the past month, reported the Indian platform The Week.

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Rajiv Bansal, Bhushan mentioned that due to the decrease in Covid cases, the Ministry is revising its guidelines for international arrivals.

He cited the World Health Organisation’s latest update, which reports an 89% decrease in the number of newly confirmed cases globally in the past 28 days compared to the previous 28 days.

Bhushan also noted that India is experiencing a continuous drop in Covid cases, with fewer than 100 new cases reported daily

The letter said…

“In view of the above, this ministry is updating its ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals,’ and dropping the existing requirements of pre-departure Covid-19 testing and uploading of Self-Health Declaration on the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s ‘Air Suvidha’ portal applicable for international travellers coming from/via China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Japan.”

As a precautionary measure to monitor the spread of mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 among international travellers to India, the current practice of randomly testing 2% of all arriving travellers, regardless of their country of origin, will continue.

The Ministry of Health is committed to proactively managing the Covid situation and regularly updates its guidelines for international arrivals.