This story is from August 11, 2020

No quarantine for flyers leaving Assam within 72 hours of arrival

Air passengers visiting Assam for a short duration won’t be sent for quarantine if their Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) results at the airport are negative.
No quarantine for flyers leaving Assam within 72 hours of arrival
GUWAHATI: Air passengers visiting Assam for a short duration won’t be sent for quarantine if their Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) results at the airport are negative.
The new directive issued by the state government on Monday stated that the arriving air passengers will be allowed to return from the state’s territory in 72 hours without being quarantined. Earlier, this window period was only for a day and that, too, without night halt.
The order issued by the principal secretary of the state health department, Samir K Sinha, says any air passenger who departs from Assam within 72 hours of arrival won’t have to undergo quarantine if he or she provides a copy of return ticket, indicating departure within the stipulated period.
“The visitor shall provide swab sample for Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) immediately on arrival. If the test result is negative, he/she shall be allowed to proceed. If the test result is positive, he/she shall have to undergo isolation/treatment as per the protocol for Covid patients,” read the order.
It further stated that in case of symptomatic visitors coming to the state by air, they will have to undergo RT-PCR testing as well even if RAT results are negative. Such symptomatic visitors will have to remain in isolation till their RT-PCR test result comes.
Breaching 72-hr norm will invite penal action
While it has been directed that all such visitors shall comply with hygiene and social distancing norms during the period of stay in Assam, the order made it clear that breaching the 72-hour timeframe will invite penal action. “In case the visitor exceeds the 72 hours time frame of stay, he/she will face penal action and shall be placed in quarantine,” the order says.
The previous standard operating procedure (SOP) endorsed by the state government on May 24, a day before domestic air travel resumed in the country, stated that any passenger on a day-long visit to the state without night halt will be exempted from the general quarantine norms. On the other hand, symptomatic passengers, who arrived in Assam through flight, were directed to be segregated and sent to the nearest Covid screening camp. As per that SOP, asymptomatic passengers, other than the exempted categories, were asked to undergo combined institutional quarantine and home quarantine of at least 14 days. But another order issued in July by the state government said asymptomatic air passengers with negative test reports were directed to go for 10-day home quarantine.
The new move of may prove instrumental in augmenting the flow of air passengers, said aviation industry insiders.
An Airports Authority of India source said, “The 72-hour timeframe given by the Assam government is likely to enhance commercial activities, business meetings or official trainings. It will increase the flow of passengers from other states as they can stay in the state for a day or two, have their urgent works done and return. It will be a boost to the aviation industry as well.”
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About the Author
Kangkan Kalita

Kangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers issues on health, education, stories of human interest while keeping a close watch on political developments and student movements. Reporting on environment and forest related issues and concerns of the northeast interest him equally.

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