New Delhi, Dec 28, 2022, By Special Correspondent

New Delhi, Dec 28: Passengers arriving from China and five other countries might have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR test from next week as the government considers as “crucial” the next 40 days when India may see a Covid surge.

 

The other countries are Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.

 

The Health ministry has, however, maintained that even if there is a fresh wave, hospitalisation and deaths “will be very low.”

 

"Previously, it has been noticed that a new wave of COVID-19 hits India around 30-35 days after it hits East Asia.... This has been a trend," an official said.

 

Passengers may be asked to fill up 'air suvidha' forms and 72-hour prior RT-PCR testing may be made mandatory from next week for international passengers coming from these countries.

 

Official sources said 39 international passengers were found positive for COVID-19 out of the 6,000 tested on arrival in the last two days.

 

The government has already sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality.

 

Following the surge, the government made random coronavirus testing mandatory for two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight from Saturday.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Health Minister Mandaviya have held meetings to assess the country's preparedness to deal with a fresh surge in cases.

Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection, with the Union Health Minister saying the country has to remain alert and prepared as cases are rising in the world.

 

The latest spike in cases is being driven by Omicron sub-variant BF.7. The official sources said the transmissibility of this BF.7 sub-variant is very high. A person infected with the sub-variant can further infect 16 persons.

 

China has been witnessing thousands of cases daily in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, India logged 188 new coronavirus infections with a daily positivity rate of 0.14 per cent and the weekly positivity rate recorded at 0.18 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said.