Covid-19: 11 Omicron sub-variants detected in passengers between Dec 24-Jan 3

Eleven variants of Covid19 were detected during testing of international passengers at airports and seaports in India between December 24 to January 3 official sources have saidEleven Omicron subvariants were found during testing of international travellers and all these variants earlier reported as present in the country the sources saidA total of 19227 samples of international travellers were tested out of which 124 were found positive and were isolated they saidOf the 124 positive samples genome sequencing results of 40 were received of which XBB including XBB1 was found in the maximum 14 samples BF 741 has been found in one sample as per official sourcesIndia saw a slight increase in Covid infections on Thursday as it witnessed 188 new cases in the last 24 hours according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare MoHFWThe country recorded 175 new cases on WednesdayAccording to the MoHFW Indias active caseload currently stands at 2554 with the active case rate at 001 per centMeanwhile the countrys recovery rate also stood at 988 per cent as it saw 201 recoveries in the last 24 hours which took the total recoveries to 44146055The Health Ministry further said that the countrys daily positivity rate and weekly positivity rate stand at 010 and 012 per cent respectivelyUnder the Nationwide Vaccination Drive against the Covid19 the Health Ministry said that a total of 22012 crore Vaccine doses 9513 cr Second Dose and 2242 cr Precaution Dose have been administered so far of which 61828 doses were jabbed in the last 24 hoursAlso Read WHO chief asks China for rapid reliable data on Covid19 deathsIt also said that a total of 193051 Covid tests were conducted in the last 24 hours with which the number of Covid tests conducted in the country rose to 9115 croresAs there have been reports of a surge in Covid cases in some countries the operational readiness of health facilities is being reviewed in all states and Union Territories in case of another waveA recent surge has been observed in Covid cases across the world because of BF7 variant which is believed to be the major factor behind the surge including in countries like China and the USLooking at the data submitted by China which shows Omicron subvariants BA52 and BF7 are predominant that are accounting for 975 per cent of all local infections the World Health Organisation WHO in an official statement said that they will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Peoples Republic of China and globally and urged all the countries to continue to be vigilant to monitor and report sequences as well as to conduct independent and comparative analyses of the different Omicron sublineages including on the severity of disease they causeNow mandatory predeparture RTPCR testing has been introduced for passengers arriving in India on all international flights from China Singapore Hong Kong South Korea Thailand and Japan The test has to be conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a press release issued on January 2 2023The ministry release issued by Lav Agarwal additional secretary Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the ministry has decided to revise and update its existing guidelines for International arrivals in view of the rising Covid cases in the abovementioned countriesIt said that the Ministry of Civil Aviations Air Suvidha Portal has to be made operational for passengers on all international flights from these countries with a provision to allow international travellers arriving in India to submit negative RTPCR test reports as well as to submit selfdeclaration form on this portalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever