December 11, 2021, 12:14 PM
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India has removed Singapore from its list of countries that have been deemed "at risk" over the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Indian media The Economic Times and The Times of India (TOI) reported.
Source: Screenshot from India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
This means that travellers from Singapore will no longer be subjected to additional requirements such as being a mandatory PCR test upon arrival, having to wait for the results before being allowed to leave the airport or take a connecting flight, and a mandatory seven-day quarantine at home, among other measures.
2 per cent of travellers from Singapore will now be randomly selected for PCR testing
As such, passengers from Singapore will be able to travel freely to India.
However, they will still need to monitor their health for 14 days.
In addition, a random sample of two per cent of the travellers from Singapore will still need to undergo PCR tests upon their arrival at an airport in India, according to a Singapore Airlines statement quoted by Indian media.
The random testing is also mentioned on Singapore Airlines' website.
In response to Mothership's queries, Singapore Airlines said that itwelcomes the easing of India's entry requirements for passengers from Singapore.
All customers are also advised to ensure that they fulfil all necessary requirements before their flight.
Quarantine requirement lasted for nine days
Singapore was classified as "at risk" by the authorities in India, in a Nov. 30 update to its guidelines for international arrivals, in response to concerns over the emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa.
The updated guidelines imposed additional travel requirements on travellers from "at risk" countries including Singapore from Dec. 1.
The additional requirements also came in the wake of the launch of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with India on Nov. 29, which allowed vaccinated travellers from India to enter Singapore without needing to be subjected to Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
Singapore was subsequently taken off India's "at risk" list on Dec. 9.
Top photo by Swapnil Deshpandey via Unsplash
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