Travellers from the UK arriving in India would need to carry certificates showing them as negative for the coronavirus disease and subject themselves to tests on entry, the Union health ministry said in fresh protocols applicable up to January 30.

The protocols, released on Saturday alongside the Centre’s decision to resume India-UK flights from January 8, are intended to minimise the spread in India of the emerging UK variant that is about 50 per cent more transmissible than other variants.

The health ministry in consultation with the civil aviation ministry has decided to allow limited flight connectivity to the UK with flights initially allowed into only five airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

The protocols that shall be initially valid up to January 30 midnight would require passengers coming from the UK between January 8 and 30 to carry negative PCR test reports for which the tests should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to flights.

Airlines would have to ensure that passengers carry a negative test report before boarding.

The passengers would also be subjected to self-paid PCR tests on arrival at Indian airports and would need to wait until test results before leaving the airport. Anyone found positive would be isolated and their samples sent for genome sequencing.

If the sequence shows the presence of the fast-spreading UK coronavirus variant, the patients would continue to remain in separate isolation units and receive treatment under standard guidelines and be able to exit isolation after they turn negative.

If the sequence finds other variants already circulating in India, the patient would be advised home isolation or hospital treatment, depending on their symptoms.

All contacts of positive cases, including co-passengers seated three rows ahead and three rows behind on the aircraft, would also be subject to institutional quarantine and tested on specific days or earlier if they develop symptoms. Contacts found positive will also have their virus samples sequenced.

The protocols come amid concerns that the UK variant might alter or reverse India’s Covid-19 epidemic that has shrunk since mid-September. Some epidemiologists have argued that a fast-spreading variant could overwhelm hospitals and cause more deaths than a deadlier variant that does not spread as fast.