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India Issues Tourist Visas As It Opens To International Travelers

India Issues Tourist Visas As It Opens To International TravelersIndia’s borders were closed for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic when the country suffered several surges in COVID-19 cases. The country initially reopened to visitors on October 15, but only those traveling there on chartered flights. However, Monday this week saw international travelers heading to India on the first commercial flights since March 2020.

Commercial flights are available to India again

Monday, November 15 saw the first commercial flights into India since March 2020, landing in the country with foreign travelers. In fact, fully vaccinated international travelers from 99 countries, including the UK, US and most European countries, have been given the green light to travel to India again, quarantine-free.

In the meanwhile, as case numbers continue to fall across the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs in India has said it will issue 500,000 tourist or e-visas through March 2022. All arrivals must provide proof of full vaccination and must test negative for the virus within three days of boarding their flight to India.

However, the US Embassy in India has said, “travelers coming from or transiting through locations listed as Countries At-Risk and which do not have a vaccination agreement with India will have to either self-monitor for 14 days post-arrival (if fully vaccinated) or submit to a post-arrival COVID-19 test and home quarantine for seven days (if partially or not vaccinated).”

India and the Delta variant

Earlier in 2021, India was the first country to be affected by a major COVID-19 surge, driven by the highly infectious Delta variant. At its peak in spring, the country recorded more than 400,000 cases per day. In fact, India is still the second worst-affected country for coronavirus infections after the US.

However, fortunately, case numbers are steadily decreasing since it peaked and vaccination rates are increasing. In fact, on Monday, India reached a milestone in what is the world’s largest vaccination campaign after the Health Ministry announced that 112.34 crore (around 1,123 million) doses of the vaccine have now been administered.

https://twitter.com/MoHFW_INDIA/status/1460091111297355776

According to Oxford’s Our World in Data, around 370 million people in India are now fully vaccinated. This represents 27 percent out of a population of 1.38 billion, so there is still a way to go and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet in sight in India.

Health and safety protocols still in place

While cases are dropping and vaccinations are increasing, domestic measures are still in effect across India to continue to curb the spread of the virus and travelers are asked to adhere to them.

Indian officials have stated, “All due protocols and norms relating to COVID-19 as notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from time to time shall be adhered to by the foreign tourists.”

Currently, people are required to wear masks in public and on public transport. Meanwhile, social distancing and capacity limits are also still in place across the country, with several states issuing fines for non-compliance.

However, it is good to note that fully vaccinated international visitors are welcome in India on commercial flights again, giving the country’s tourism industry a chance to recover.

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