Random Covid testing for arriving international passengers from today

New Delhi: The government on Thursday said that two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight will be subject to random coronavirus test from December 24.
The Union health ministry has written to the civil aviation ministry in this regard amid an increase in coronavirus cases in many countries.Following random testing, if anybody is found Covid-positive, the sample should be sent for genomic testing at the designated INSACOG laboratory network, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in a letter to his civil aviation ministry counterpart Rajiv Bansal.
Around 2% of passengers arriving on each international flight will be subject to random coronavirus tests from tomorrow, December 24, the Central government said on Thursday. The health ministry has written to the civil aviation ministry in this regard.In the letter, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said if anybody found Covid-19 positive, the sample should be sent for genome testing at the designated INSACOG laboratory network. Travelers will be allowed to leave the airport after submitting samples for random testing, he said. Bhushan stated that a copy of the positive report shall be shared with Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme at [email protected] by the concerned testing laboratory (besides sharing with the APHOS) to be in turn shared with the concerned state or Union Territory for further follow-up action. As a result of its sustained efforts and focus on the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour, India has been able to effectively restrict the spread of Covid-19 transmission in the country so far, the letter read. Globally, the number of Covid cases continues to remain high with around 5.9 lakh daily new cases reported on average during the week ending on December 19, 2022.