Goa to cap RT PCR cost to 3,200 as foreign tourists prepare to arrive

Goa authorities on Thursday announced that foreign tourists who travel to India in the coming days will not need to pay more the Rs 3,200 for the RT-PCR test while reaffirming that the procedure will be mandatory for tourists when they arrive.

Gautami S Parmekar, Goa’s under-secretary for health, released an order that referred to the government’s decision to permit foreign nationals to visit India. Charter flights will commence on October 15 while individual carriers can start arriving by November 15 this year.

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Parmekar said that it was “necessary to make compulsory testing of all the international passengers by rapid RT-PCR tests at the Goa airport and seaport”, according to reports from Hindustan Times.

The first batch of direct international tourists, who are likely to come by mid-November, will be arriving in Goa after an 18-month long wait due to COVID-19 curbs.

However, the COVID-19 verification still seems to be tight in the state. Testing for the disease has been made mandatory for all foreign nationals arriving in the country unless they have tested negative about 72 hours before their trip.

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India has set mutual agreements with countries that help recognise various COVID-19 vaccine certifications, Times reported.

Earlier this week, India released country-wide guidelines for air travel in the coming days. It suggested that those who have been fully vaccinated and are arriving from a country with a mutual COVID-19 vaccine agreement will not be mandated to undergo home quarantine and testing starting October 25. The requirement for a negative RT-PCR reports remains in place.

If partially or not vaccinated, travellers must take steps such as submitting a sample for a post-arrival COVID-19 test, after which they will be allowed to leave the airport, quarantine at home for seven days, re-test on the eighth day of arrival in India, and self-monitor their health for the next seven days if negative.