RT-PCR to be made must

New Delhi: The government is likely to make it mandatory for passengers arriving from China and five other places to have negative RT-PCR reports from next week, official sources said on Wednesday.

They also cautioned that the next 40 days will be crucial as India may see a Covid surge in January. Even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low, the Health Ministry sources said. "Previously, it has been noticed that a new wave of COVID-19 hits India around 30-35 days after it hits East Asia.... This has been a trend," an official said.

As Covid gets back on the radar with a surge in China and people worry about another wave in India, some scientists have called for a reality check. The situation in India where a large number of people have been exposed to the virus and also been vaccinated is quite different from that in China.

As the government tightens Covid-19-related guidelines, the sources said filling up of 'air suvidha' forms and 72-hour prior RT-PCR testing may be made mandatory from next week for international passengers coming from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. The sources said 39 international passengers were found positive for Covid-19 out of the 6,000 tested on arrival in the last two days.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will visit the airport in Delhi on Thursday to take stock of testing and screening facilities there, they said. The proposed tightening of Covid guidelines and warning of a fresh surge come days after Health Minister Mandaviya asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if Covid-19 protocols could not be followed. The yatra, currently on winter break, will resume on January 3.

The government has already sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality. Following the surge, the government made random coronavirus testing mandatory for two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight from Saturday.