Covid 19: Govt mulls more curbs for international arrivals as uptick in cases likely in mid-January

New Delhi, December 28: With India likely to see an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the next 40 days and experts describing the time period as crucial, the Union Government is mulling more restrictions for international arrivals. 

As per  sources in the Union Health Ministry, filling Air Suvidha forms and having RT-PCR test reports 72 hours prior to departure are likely to be made mandatory next week for all international passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore.

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The sources added that as per experts, the next 40 days would be crucial as India might witness a record high Covid cases in mid-January. They had reached this conclusion after studying the previous trends of the Covid surge in India, added the sources. 

China and several other countries are witnessing a record high cases of Covid driven by new Omicron subvariant BF.7. A mock drill was conducted across all states and UTs on December 27 to check operational readiness of healthcare facilities.

Notably, two passengers from Dubai were found infected at the Chennai airport on Wednesday. "Two passengers, who arrived from Dubai, tested positive at the Chennai airport today. Both of hail from the Alangudi district of Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai. Their test samples have been sent to the State Public Health Laboratory," read a statement issued by the Tamil Nadu Health department on Wednesday.

So far, 39 international fliers have been found infected with Covid 19 between December 24 and 26. Amid an uptick in cases across the globe, the Centre had ordered random testing of international passengers. 

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