In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Assam, the state government has passed a decree making COVID-19 testing mandatory for air travellers upon arrival at any airport in Assam.
Passengers will have to undertake both the Rapid Antigen Test and RT-PCR tests. Passengers in transit have been excluded from this process.
State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed the decree stating &ldquonow all air passengers arriving in any airports of Assam will have to mandatorily undergo Covid-19 test (both RAT and RT-PCR) excluding the transit passengers,&rdquo via social media.
As per the latest notifications issued by the Health Department of Assam, passengers will not be charged for undertaking the Rapid Antigen test. However, RT-PCR will cost around Rs 500, considering that is the present maximum rate for the test.
Also, if the RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) is positive, passengers will have to undergo home isolation or get admitted to a private hospital or a government health institution, depending upon their medical condition. If the RAT is negative, passengers will have to take a paid RT-PCR test at the airport. After the sample is collected, passengers will be allowed to leave the airport subject to the condition that they will remain in quarantine till the test results arrive.
Passengers will be hand-stamped after the RT-PCR test.
Flyers landing in Assam have to mandatorily carry a negative RT-PCR report if they have boarded from Mumbai or Bengaluru. The test results must be within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey and the test report will be verifiable using a QR code or the test results portal.
Airlines will allow passengers at Mumbai and Bengaluru to board the flight only if they are carrying the negative RT-PCR test report. Any passenger from these two cities arriving without an RT-PCR test report will undergo paid COVID-19 testing at the airport and will have to wait at a designated place inside the airport at his/her own expense till the test result arrives.
