New Delhi, February 10 India will lift Covid-19 test mandate for travellers arriving from/via China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand and Japan beginning February 13 (Monday).

The relaxation also includes dropping the mandate to upload the ‘Air Suvidha’ form for those coming in from these countries.

The decision comes in the wake of a significant decline in Covid-19 cases in these countries, over the last four weeks, Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a letter dated February 9.

“Further, as per World Health Organization’s latest situational update on COVID-19, a decline of 89 per cent in the number of newly confirmed cases in the past 28 days has been noted globally as compared to 28. days prior to that,” he said adding that India has continued to witness a declining trajectory, with less than 100 new cases/day being reported.

However, the present exercise of randomly testing 2 per cent travellers coming into the country will continue, it was said.

“In order to monitor infections due to mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 among international travellers to India, the present exercise of random testing of two per cent travellers irrespective of their country of origin upon arrival in India shall continue,” the letter said.

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