India opens borders to vaccinated foreign tourists

By Manveena Suri, CNN

India opened its borders to fully vaccinated foreign tourists entering the country on commercial flights for the first time in nearly two years on Monday.

Tourists entering the country must be fully vaccinated, test negative for the virus within 72 hours of their flight and follow all Covid-19 protocols, according to the health ministry.

Travelers from countries that have mutual agreements with India on the recognition of vaccination certificates, including the United States, United Kingdom and multiple European nations, can leave the airport without undergoing a Covid-19 test. However, they must monitor their health for 14 days after their arrival.

Travelers who are partially or not vaccinated will have to submit a sample for a Covid-19 test at the airport. They will then be allowed to leave the airport and are required to quarantine at home for a week. On the eighth day, they will be required to take another test, and if negative, continue to monitor their health for another week.

This is the first time India has allowed foreign tourists on commercial flights to enter the country since March 2020, when it imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in an effort to contain the pandemic.

Fully vaccinated tourists on chartered flights were allowed to enter starting last month.

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Top image: People wait for their relatives and friends to come out of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on November 15, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Rishi Lekhi