New Delhi: Amid the BF.7 Covid variant threat in the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Wednesday said wearing masks won't be made mandatory this time. Briefing media on the current situation as far as Covid-19 was concerned, Mandaviya said that 6,000 international passengers have been tested in the last two days of which 38 were found positive.
He said that the next 30 days were crucial as BF.7 variant "may come into India". He said that BF.7 variant has been isolated and the effect of vaccines was being determined. He added that India has detected 220 variants of Covid19 as of now.
On incoming international passengers, the health minister said that Air Suvidha form filling to declare current health status will be made compulsory for international passengers arriving from five countries - China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. "Under this arrangement, the passengers need to conduct an RTPCR test 24 hours before boarding the flight," he said.
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He also pointed out that several states had reported a shortage of vaccines and to mitigate the same, the centre was shifting doses from states which have surplus doses. Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in some countries, including China and South Korea, the government has sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Health Minister Mandaviya have held meetings to assess the country's preparedness to deal with a fresh surge in cases. Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection, with Mandaviya saying the country has to remain alert and prepared as cases are rising in the world.
The latest spike in cases is being driven by Omicron sub-variant BF.7. The official sources said the transmissibility of this BF.7 sub-variant is very high. A person infected with the sub-variant can further infect 16 persons.
