India to randomly test international visitors for Covid-19

NEW DELHI: India has begun randomly testing international passengers arriving at its airports for Covid-19, the country’s health minister said on Thursday, citing an increase in cases in neighboring China.

Mansukh Mandaviya announced the new rule in Parliament, where he also urged state governments to increase surveillance for any new coronavirus variants and send samples of all positive cases to genome sequencing laboratories. Mandaviya also asked the public to wear masks and maintain social distancing, even though there are no official mandates for either.

India relaxed its mask-wearing rules earlier this year after coronavirus cases began dropping sharply. It has reported the most Covid-19 cases in the world since the pandemic began, but confirmed infections have fallen sharply in the past few months. According to health ministry data, India currently has about 3,400 active coronavirus cases.

Cases have surged in neighbouring China since it relaxed its harsh restrictions earlier this month following rare public protests. Mandaviya said the Indian government has no plans yet to halt flights from countries where new cases have been reported. The increase in cases in China has also prompted Indian health experts to issue advisories for the public to wear face masks and receive vaccine booster doses.