Earlier on December 24, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that RT-PCR test would be made mandatory for passengers from a few countries reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that an RT-PCR test for coronavirus will be compulsory for travellers coming from China, Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Japan, and South Korea to the state’s four international airports in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, and Madurai. The announcement came on Sunday, December 25, at a time when China and a few other countries have reported a surge in COVID-19 cases. Earlier on Saturday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had tweeted that COVID-19 tests were being done on passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand at the Delhi international airport.
Amid concerns over COVID-19, the Tamil Nadu government has intensified efforts to ensure preventive measures. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin held a high-level meeting with ministers and officials at the Secretariat on December 22, to ensure that government hospitals in the state have sufficient beds, medicines, testing equipment, and oxygen supply for treating patients.
“In the meeting with CM Stalin, we decided to do random testing for coronavirus on two per cent of all international passengers arriving at Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, and Madurai international airports from Saturday. But after the tweet from Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, we directed airport authorities to run 100% RT-PCR tests on passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Japan, and South Korea,” Minister Subramanian said. He further added that for passengers coming from these countries, as well as as well as Singapore and Abu Dhabi (UAE) in transit, will have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR tests.
दिल्ली इंटरनेशनल एयरपोर्ट पर आज चीन, हांगकांग, बैंकॉक, जापान, साउथ कोरिया सहित विदेश से आने वाले यात्रियों का कोरोना का सैम्पल टेस्ट चालू कर दिया गया है।
कोरोना के बढ़ते प्रभाव को देखते हुए सभी आवश्यक कदम उठाए जा रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/J4ZERQAuWU
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 24, 2022
Subramanian said that the COVID-19 prevention guidelines have not been withdrawn and that it is best for people to maintain physical distancing, wash hands regularly and wear masks in crowded malls and airconditioned halls to avoid infection. In Tamil Nadu, in the last 10 days, samples from nearly 4000 to 5000 people were tested. However, cases were registered only in single digits, Subramanian said, adding that people don’t have to panic over the BF.7 variant. According to the minister, 96% of the state’s population have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 92% of the people have received the second dose. He said that the state government was taking all preventive measures against a possible spread of a new variant of the virus.
Watch: Why China is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases
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Source: The News Minute