Negative Covid report must for flyers from China

New Delhi: From January 1, passengers travelling to India from China and five other countries will have to submit a negative Covid test report before their arrival, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.

Passengers come from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will have to upload their reports on the Air Suvidha portal before their departure.

"RT-PCR test has been made mandatory for flyers coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from 1st January 2023. They will have to upload their reports on the Air Suvidha portal before travel," Mandaviya said in a tweet.

The tests have to be conducted within 72 hours of undertaking the journey to India, he said. The announcement comes amid a spike in Covid cases in China and some other countries. Experts believe that the surge is due to a new coronavirus variant BF.7.

Hospitals across China have been overwhelmed by an explosion of infections following Beijing's decision to lift strict rules that had largely kept the virus at bay but tanked the economy and sparked widespread protests. China said this week it would end mandatory quarantine on arrival, prompting many jubilant Chinese to make plans to travel abroad. India has sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality. The government has also made random coronavirus testing mandatory for two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight from Saturday. Meanwhile, India recorded 268 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active cases up to 3,552, according to the Health Ministry data.