Covid: Govt directs random testing for international passengers across all airports, say sources

Amid unabated rise in Covid cases in China, Indian government is re-introducing Covid-19 testing related measures at airports for international travellers, sources told India Today. 

Samples of those arriving from foreign countries will be randomly tested for coronavirus, health ministry sources said on Wednesday.

"There are currently 10 different variants of coronavirus in the country, the latest variant is BF.7. At present, only different variants of Omicron are spreading in the country. Even today, the Delta variant is being seen somewhere in the country," sources told India Today.

The move comes following a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to review the Covid situation in the country.

After the meeting, Mandaviya said COVID-19 is not over yet. ''I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation.'' During the meeting, attended by experts and senior officials, the minister was briefed on the global COVID-19 situation and the domestic scenario, including the preparedness of all stakeholders. Noting that only 27-28 per cent of India's eligible population have taken the precaution dose of COVID-19, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, after the meeting, said people should take the jab and also wear masks in crowded places.

Meanwhile, three cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China's current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in India so far.

Official sources told PTI that the first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre. So far, two cases have been reported from Gujarat while one case has been reported from Odisha, they said.

The Karnataka government will start screening international passengers at Bengaluru airport in view of a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Wednesday He, however, did not specify from which date the screening process will begin at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.

"We will have to take certain precautionary measures in the wake of global situation. KIA has a high inflow of international passengers. We will start screening passengers there," Sudhakar said.

In the Covid review meeting chaired by Mandaviya, experts said although there is no overall increase in Covid caseload as of now, there is a need for continued surveillance to keep a track of existing and emerging variants.

According to official sources, Chinese cities are currently hit by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, mostly BF.7 which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and is contributing to a wider surge of Covid infections in that country.

''The BF.7's high transmissibility in China might be attributed to a low level of immunity in the Chinese population from the previous infection and possibly vaccination too,'' an official source told PTI.

BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 and has the strongest infection ability since it is highly transmissible, has a shorter incubation period, and has a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated.

It has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark.

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