Indian state of Karnataka has updated it Covid-19 regulatory mandates for international travelers, especially those returning back from the UAE. For one, there will be mandatory need for a negative PCR test result for all international passengers arriving in Karnataka.

According to a tweet shared by Air India Express, “For all passengers travelling from international destinations to Karnataka, a valid negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test [result], issued within 72 hours before departure, is required.” Those who fail to produce a negative test certificate would have to go through a mandatory test screening at the airport itself.

This mandate has been put into action after a formal circular was issued by the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Service that stated that, “All international passengers arriving in Karnataka from any country shall have COVID negative certificate (issued within 72 hours from time of departure).”

Testing facility is being done free of cost at airports and ports respectively. Due to the quick mutation, nature of the second strain, the symptoms and detection has again become a challenge.

Karnataka is the second state in India to announce changes in Covid-19 related travel rules in the wake of the new strain of the virus. Earlier, the western Indian state of Maharashtra had made it mandatory for all travellers from the UK, Europe and Middle East to undergo 14 days’ mandatory quarantine as a precaution. These passengers have to spend the first seven days under institutional quarantine, followed by seven more days of quarantine at home.