Indian govt makes RT-PCR test mandatory for international arrivals from China, 4 other nations

RT-PCR tests will be mandatory for those arriving from China, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday as the government takes stock of preparedness to check the spread of coronavirus. This comes a day after the Union Health Minister held a meeting with state ministers to discuss the current situation and ensure that the country is ready with all measures in place. A huge spike in cases in China this month has caught massive attention. Nearly 18 per cent of the the country's population is said to be affected by the virus in the first 20 days of December, as per reports.

With China and other countries witnessing a surge in Covid cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cautioned against complacency, called for a strict vigil and directed that the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at the international airports, be strengthened.The Union health ministry has already asked the civil aviation ministry to ensure random post-arrival Covid testing at airports of 2 per cent of the passengers arriving in India in each international flight from Saturday to minimise the risk of ingress of any new variant of the coronavirus in the country. Taking note of the rising cases of COVID globally, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that the Centre and States need to work in "tandem" and in a "collaborative spirit" as was done during the previous surges.