According to a report published in Hindustan Times, with a massive rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in China, India, along with many other countries, has restricted its arrivals of passengers from China. Strict measures have been taken so that the number of fresh cases of Covid in these countries and India can be kept low. During the month of December, from the department of the Union Health Minister in India, a fresh new advisory note has been published. It had directed the airports along with different other entry points in the country to strengthen its surveillance.
Genome sequencing is conducted in different airports in India and an alert has been kept regarding the scanning of international passengers, especially people entering India from China. In this view, a new advisory was also issued to make the RT-PCR test mandatory for travelers from China and five more countries. In addition to this, a random sampling of two percent of every other international passenger is been conducted too.
Along with India, many other countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and France too has made the Covid test mandatory for all international passengers entering the country. In protection against the fresh Covid outbreak in China, this measure has been taken by these different countries.
In India, the Health Ministry has also tightened the country’s loops. It has also appealed to the citizens to wear masks and maintain the protocols of Covid back again. In an interview, the minister for health emphasized washing and sanitizing the hands regularly and maintaining a distance. In the month of December too a mock drill on Covid was run across different healthcare centers and hospitals across various states.
A strong check was made regarding how prepared we are to handle another outbreak of the pandemic. Mansukh Mandaviya, the health minister had visited the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and minutely scrutinized the preparation for handling the emergency. The government has also directed every health center and hospital on keeping all the essential supplies ready such as hospital beds and oxygen.
Till now more than fifty international passengers who have come to India have been found Covid positive. The officials of the Healthcare unit in India are well-versed in the government’s plan against the spike in Covid cases. The government is not only focusing on Covid alone but also on its new variants and contentment. There has been a rise in the sub-variant virus of Covid, Omicron in China last year and after that four patients in India were detected having the same. After their recovery, the medical experts assured the people that there was no need to panic as long as no new variant comes onto the scene.
Reportedly, ten more countries along with India has put strict restriction on their international arrivals, especially from China and other Asian countries. It has been reported that despite the mercury dipping low by a few degrees and a rise in the number of Covid cases in China, many people have started living a normal life, especially in Wuhan, Beijing, and Shanghai.