All international passengers arriving from the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa, Middle East and Europe to Mumbai will now have to mandatorily undergo quarantine for at least 14 days that includes both institutional and home quarantine, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai said in a statement on Sunday.
Passengers will be institutionally quarantined after arrival while RT-PCR (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests will be conducted only after seven days at respective hotels and institutional facilities, cost of which will be borne by passengers.
"If the report of the test is found negative, the passenger will be discharged from institutional quarantine after 7 (seven) days with advice of 7 (seven) days mandatory home quarantine," the statement said.
"If the test is found positive, passengers will be shifted to designated COVID-19 hospital, Seven Hills for UK and GT Hospital for travellers from other countries for further evaluation and treatment," it added.
Institutional quarantine is, however, exempted for officials working at foreign embassies and consulates.
In case of home quarantine, undertakings will be taken from passengers to stay at home during the quarantine period while they will also be stamped during the process.
As things stand, India has suspended flights to and from the UK till 31 December to prevent the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus that is considered to be 70% more infectious.
Meanwhile, South Africa's health department last week said that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and might be responsible for a recent surge in infections in the country.
The total number of active covid-19 cases in India stands at 278,690 as of Sunday with 18,732 fresh infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the latest Union Health Ministry data. According to the latest data, 1,47,622 have succumbed to the virus in the country.
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.