India makes negative COVID test mandatory for five countries - Al Jazeera English

Travellers arriving from countries, including China, volition person to amusement a antagonistic COVID-19 trial to participate the country.

India has mandated a COVID-19 antagonistic trial study for travellers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, the national wellness curate said.

Passengers from those countries would beryllium enactment nether quarantine if they showed symptoms of COVID-19 oregon tested positive, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted connected Saturday, arsenic helium posted photographs of tests being conducted astatine the planetary airdrome successful the capital, New Delhi.

India – which has reported the 2nd highest fig of confirmed COVID-19 cases successful the world, astatine 44 million, down the United States to day – connected Saturday besides started randomly investigating 2 percent of planetary passengers arriving astatine its airports for COVID-19.

Mandaviya cited an summation successful cases successful neighbouring China for the caller rules, helium told parliament connected Thursday.

A fewer cases of BF.7 – the Omicron subvariant that is driving the existent surge successful China – person been recovered successful India truthful far, according to section media reports.

The curate urged authorities governments to summation surveillance for immoderate caller coronavirus variants and nonstop samples of each affirmative cases to genome sequencing laboratories.

India relaxed its mask-wearing rules earlier this twelvemonth aft the caseload began dropping. According to wellness ministry data, India presently has astir 3,400 progressive coronavirus cases.

Cases person surged successful China since it relaxed its harsh zero-COVID argumentation this period pursuing uncommon nationalist protests. Under the arguable policy, the authorities were placing full towns and cities nether lockdown if they reported a fewer cases.

Mandaviya said the Indian authorities had nary plans yet to halt flights from countries wherever caller cases person been reported.

On Thursday, India’s apical doctors’ body, the Indian Medical Association, besides appealed to radical to deterioration masks successful nationalist places and get vaccine boosters. It additionally urged radical to debar nationalist gatherings specified arsenic weddings, governmental and societal meetings, and planetary travel.

India, a state of astir 1.4 billion, has administered much than 2.2 cardinal vaccine doses, but lone 27 percent of the colonisation has received the booster 3rd dose.