New Delhi: Amid the threat of Corona, the central government has made RT-PCR test mandatory for travelers coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from January 1. They will have to upload their report on the Air Suvidha portal before traveling.
According to health ministry officials, passengers coming from these six countries will be required to produce a negative RT-PCR report from January 1. The Centre’s decision came a day after health ministry sources said the next 40 days are crucial as India’s COVID-19 cases are likely to rise sharply in January.
The central government had recently decided to randomly sample passengers coming from abroad at the airport. On Wednesday, the official had said that out of 6000 people tested, 39 people have been found positive.
“In the past, it was found that a new wave of the pandemic had hit India 30-35 days after East Asia contracted covid-19. Health ministry sources, however, said the severity of the infection is low. Even if there is a new wave of Covid, the rate of deaths and hospitalization of infected people will be very low.”
With COVID-19 cases rising sharply in some countries, including China and South Korea, the government has asked people to remain vigilant and asked states and union territories to prepare for any eventuality.