Photo of Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 2, 2016.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images
After closing its borders to international visitors for 20 months due to the pandemic, India will now allow fully vaccinated foreign travelers from a list of nearly 100 countries to enter without quarantine.
In the guidelines updated last week, India said travelers from these countries are allowed to skip a Covid test upon arrival but must monitor their health for the next 14 days.
As of November 13, there were 99 countries on that list, including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, Germany, France, and Brazil.
The countries on the list fall into two categories:
1. Those with mutual agreements with the Government of India for mutual recognition of vaccine certificates for either locally approved or World Health Organization recognized vaccines;
2. and countries that do not have such agreements but allow fully vaccinated Indian citizens to travel.
Visitors from countries not on the list must take a Covid test upon arrival, then spend 7 days in quarantine at home, and take another test on the 8th day, regardless of their vaccination status.
Notable countries missing from this list of 99 countries are China, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
Covid situation in India
India saw a devastating second wave that peaked in early May. It marginalized the country’s health system as Covid-19 cases skyrocketed and hospital beds and other medical supplies ran out. Since then, cases have tended to decline, while vaccination rates have increased somewhat.
Information compiled by online publication Our World In Data showed that the 7-day moving average of Covid cases per million people fell below 10 on October 31 and remained that way through the November 14 number as high as 280.
Still, the number of confirmed cases remains lower than the actual number of infections due to the limited testing.
Last month, India reached a notable vaccine milestone – it has administered more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses since its ambitious vaccination program began in January.
Still, just under 40% of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated, which is below the pace required to meet New Delhi’s previously announced goal of vaccinating every adult by the end of the year.
India has approved several vaccines since the vaccination program began. These include the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University – known locally as Covishield and made by the Serum Institute – as well as Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and Sputnik-V of Russia.
Both Covishield and Covaxin have been approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use.
India has also reportedly approved its first vaccine for anyone under the age of 18 – a three-dose shot made by Indian drug maker Cadila Healthcare.
