Pictures from the international terminal show long lines of passengers wearing masks
New Delhi:
Waiting up to 8 hours in a crowded space and costing Rs3,500 in case you need a quick COVID-19 test – that’s the cost many people have to pay to fly to Delhi from abroad under the new rules aimed at prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid.
Recounting the challenge, one passenger said people had to spend up to two hours in line to get tested.
Some passengers waiting at Delhi airport described it as a “hot spot”.
Pictures from the terminal for international flights showed long lines of masked passengers waiting to be screened with no sign of physical distancing, some of whom described the airport as a “point of interest”. hot”.
There are two options for testing – passengers can pay Rs 3,500 for the rapid PCR test, where results are available within 2 hours; the alternative method is to do a regular RT-PCR test for Rs 500 and spend 6-8 hours waiting for the results.
The waiting time for normal RT-PCR test results is long
The long wait for routine RT-PCR test results, especially after a long flight, makes the first choice the obvious, despite its high cost.
That’s not all. Add to that the wait of up to two hours at the entry desks, which are also crowded.
Despite the long waits and high costs, there are questions regarding how effectively the monitoring targets are being implemented.
No sign of physical separation
Although the passenger’s boarding pass has a seven-day home quarantine stamp, no phone call or any other form of follow-up has been made in the past 24 hours.
Delhi airport authorities yesterday announced that 20 dedicated counters have been opened for passengers who pre-book their Rapid PCR or RT-PCR tests before flying in.
They will save registration time and will conduct live testing.
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