‘Air Suvidha’ for international travellers likely to be reintroduced due to surge in COVID cases in other countries

The Union Health Ministry is likely to reintroduce mandatory Air Suvidha forms that will have details of the RT-PCR test that has been conducted 72 hours prior to travel, or complete vaccination proof for those coming from China and other countries reporting high numbers of COVID cases.

If reports are to go by, a decision on this will soon be taken after checking the situation in the coming weeks.
The said move comes following a meeting that was chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to review the COVID situation in the country, and in view of a sudden rise in cases in China and some other countries.

Reports have it that random sample testing for COVID will be conducted at airports for travellers arriving from China and other countries. Officials in the know-how added that the Health Ministry will likely reintroduce the mandatory Air Suvidha forms for international arrivals in view of the rising COVID cases in China and other countries.
The Union Minister further added that COVID is not over yet, and that he has directed all concerned authorities to be on alert and strengthen surveillance. He also informed that they are prepared to manage any kind of situation.

Meanwhile, states and union territories have been asked to send samples of all COVID positive cases to INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) on a daily basis for sequencing and tracking new variants, if any.

As per the latest records of Health Ministry data, India logged 185 new Coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 3,402.