Planning to visit TN? Here are the new guidelines

The government of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines for people coming to the state from abroad and other states in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the revised guidelines, people coming to Tamil Nadu from Kerala and Maharashtra will have to undergo a mandatory home quarantine of seven days.

A day after state Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan expressed concern over the plateauing of the number of fresh COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, the state government has issued fresh guidelines in relation to testing and quarantine for people entering Tamil Nadu. Here are the new guidelines for those planning to arrive at Tamil Nadu.

1. Persons coming to Tamil Nadu from other states and union territories (except Kerala and Maharashtra) shall self-monitor their health for 14 days after their arrival. 

2. Persons coming to Tamil Nadu from Kerala and Maharashtra shall undergo mandatory home quarantine for seven days and then self-monitor their health for symptoms in the next seven days. 

3. All symptomatic persons arriving from other states will be subjected to COVID-19 testing. 

4. For international passengers coming to India on flights other than those originating in the United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil, South Africa and the Middle East, 14-days self-monitoring of health is mandatory. 

5. International passengers coming to India on flights originating or transiting through the United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil, South Africa and the Middle East must carry a negative RT-PCR test report taken within 72 hours before the journey begins. All these passengers will be tested once again upon arrival at the airport in India. 

6. Passengers coming in flights originating/transiting through the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil will be allowed to take their connecting flights only if the tests in the landing airport returns negative. They shall undergo mandatory home quarantine for seven days and will be tested again after the seventh day. If the test returns negative, they will be released from home quarantine and asked to self-monitor their health for seven more days. 

7. Passengers coming in flights originating/transiting through the Middle East and Europe will be asked to self-monitor their health for 14 days if the test taken at the landing airport returns negative.