Eleven Omicron sub-variants have been detected in international passengers who arrived in India between December 24 and January 3, official sources said. All these variants were reported in India earlier.
Of the 19,227 samples of international passengers tested, 124 were found Covid-19 positive, ANI tweeted. Of the 124 positive samples, genome sequencing results of 40 were received of which XBB, including XBB.1, was found in 14 samples. BF 7.4.1 has been found in one sample.
Amid rising Covid-19 cases in China and a few other countries, India began random testing of two per cent of international arrivals from December 24. The Union Health Ministry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have urged all passengers to mask up, avoid overcrowding, and maintain physical distance while deboarding. Thermal screening is being done on all passengers arriving on international flights and symptomatic persons are immediately isolated at a medical facility.
'Air Suvidha' forms and RT-PCR tests were made mandatory for passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.
A nationwide mock drill was also conducted last month at hospitals and healthcare centres to assess the preparedness of the health infrastructure.
The fresh spike in Covid-19 cases abroad has been attributed to the BF 7 sub-variant. Though India has reported a few cases of the sub-variant, experts feel India has little to worry due to the advantage of 'hybrid immunity'.
