Centre makes RT-PCR tests mandatory for travellers from 5 countries
Amid a rise in the numbers of coronavirus cases in many south Asian countries including China, the Central government has made RT-PCR tests mandatory for people travelling to India from five countries. These countries are:China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand. In a recommendation, the government said passengers heading to India from these countries must undergo Covid testing at least 72 hours before departure. The coronavirus measures were introduced amid reports that China’s medical sector is on the brink of collapse due to an influx of coronavirus patients caused by Omicron’s BF7 subvariant. The central government said passengers traveling to India from these countries must upload her negative COVID RT-PCR certificate to his Air Suvidha portal. The regulations will apply from 1 January 2023.
According to the government statement, the test must be carried out within 72 hours after traveling to India. This means that old test reports will not be accepted. The central government is already testing her 2% of all international passengers. These tests are random. The government has also stepped up genome sequencing. India reported 268 new coronavirus cases on Thursday.The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 3,552 cases.
The central government has said there is no need to panic yet but the people of the country must follow Covid-approriate behaviour. Experts say India’s coronavirus situation won’t be as bad as that of China as most of the population has acquired what experts call herd immunity.
