It will be a long wait at Guwahati airport on arrival: Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: Every air traveler arriving in Assam will be quarantined except those who declare their intentions to go back on the same day, pilots, flight crew members and maintenance staff and people on government duties as domestic air services resume from Monday.
“But, it is going to be long wait at the airport for the other passengers after arrival before they can proceed to their designated institutional quarantine centres,” Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
“It will take 10 minutes for doctors to screen each passenger, collect their history and their swab samples for tests. We will try to provide as much comfort as possible and I apologize for this long wait in advance but, I cannot allow anyone to contaminate the state and wash away all our hard work to keep the pandemic spreading out form quarantine centres,” Sarma said.
A second category of travelers, who are exempted from institutional quarantine but not from 14 days home quarantine are pregnant women, people above 75 years of age, physically challenged, people with children below 10 years of age, people who have come to visit their parents or immediate family members who are in hospitals and people coming to attend the last rites of their parents or immediate family members.
Those who have returned from abroad to any Indian city and have already completed their quarantine period there and those who have tested negative in a RT-PCR Covid-19 test and not by rapid test in last 72 hours before their arrival here also do not need to repeat institutional quarantine but have to compulsory complete their home quarantine period.
“People intending to return on same day have to submit a declaration at the airport on arrival and any found violating it will be jailed immediately,” Sarma said while announcing the SOP for incoming air travelers.
“From Monday our next big challenge will start. There is still uncertainty but 20 to 32 flights will land daily at Guwahati and assuming that every flight of 180 capacity is full, there will be at least 2000 passengers disembarking here every day as the flights would have passengers for onward journeys to Imphal and Agartala,” Sarma added.
“Every air traveler have to spend seven days in institutional quarantine and next seven days in home quarantine after their tests results are negative. But one may have to spend few more days in institutional quarantine even if they have tested negative if doctors advise,” Sarma added.