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The Indian state of Maharashtra has reimposed mandatory quarantine for all international passengers from “at risk” countries in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Travelers arriving from countries deemed “at risk” by India’s health ministry must self-quarantine for seven days at their expense at designated hotels, according to a government statement on Tuesday.

As of November 30, countries and territories “at risk” include South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

These passengers will also need to take RT-PCR tests on the second, fourth and seventh days after arrival.

In recent days, four South African passengers and two Nigerians have tested positive for Covid-19 after landing in Maharashtra. Their samples, as with all tests that now come back positive, were sent for genome sequencing with ongoing contact tracing.

Maharashtra’s revised guidelines take effect immediately and coincide with the implementation of new national travel rules.

The new Indian rules: As of Wednesday, all international passengers arriving in India must submit a self-declaration form to an online government portal that includes a 14-day travel history and a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours before their departure.

Travelers from countries deemed “at risk” will also now be subject to additional testing and monitoring, including a PCR test on arrival and must wait for the results before departing or taking a connecting flight, according to the report. the guidelines released Sunday by the Department of Health.

They will then need to quarantine themselves at home for seven days and take another test on the eighth day.