A day earlier confusion was created due to misinterpretation of revised guidelines by a civic official who had said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had made rapid RT-PCR test compulsory for all the international passengers landing at the Mumbai airport, sources said.
While there is a shortage of testing kits, manpower and capacities, India does not have other scalable testing options.
Any passenger from these countries found symptomatic or testing positive for coronavirus would be quarantined, Mandaviya said.
India head coach Ravi Shastri has tested positive for COVID-19 in the confirmatory RT-PCR test as well and will remain in isolation for at least the next 10 days, ruling him out of the team's fifth and final Test against England, starting in Manchester on Friday, September 10.
These seven countries are South Africa, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.
Named after Satyajit Ray's famed detective, the Feluda test, which is priced at Rs 500 and can deliver a result in 45 minutes, is able to differentiate SARS-CoV-2 from other coronaviruses even if genetic variations between them are minute.
The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday said it was mandatory for people coming from Kerala, to the state to carry a negative RT-PCR test report or vaccination certificate of two COVID doses from August 5, in the wake of a spike in infections in the neighbouring state.
Passengers coming from 'at-risk' countries to six major Indian airports have to compulsorily pre-book for the on-arrival RT-PCR test from December 20 onwards, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday.
India is ready, after battling the pandemic for two years, to travel once again.
The sources said 39 international passengers were found positive for COVID-19 out of the 6,000 tested on arrival in the last two days.
The BCCI, along with its medical service provider VPS Healthcare, will facilitate the conduct of over 30,000 RT-PCR tests on all IPL players, support staff and other stakeholders during the remaining 31 games of the cash-rich league in the UAE.
Kerala leads with 1,147 active cases, and reconciliation of mortality figures is ongoing. Bihar is awaiting daily Covid-19 updates.
'We urge the government to have discussions with private labs on the actual cost of running a test.'
India took another leap in space infrastructure with the foundation stone laid for a new launch pad at the country's second rocket port in Kulasekarapattinam.
Only 30 flights per week will operate between India and the UK when services resume from January 8 and this arrangement will continue till January 23, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Friday.
Several multinational medical device makers are focusing on deepening their presence in India by expanding their local manufacturing footprint and research capabilities, a move that can catapult India into a strategic hub for the medical technology (medtech) industry. Among those increasing their reach in the country are Siemens Healthineers and Philips, signalling a broader shift from India being only a sales destination to becoming a global production and innovation base.
Amid growing concerns over the detection of human metapneumovirus cases in India, health experts have emphasised the virus is not new, and advised people to stay calm and take basic precautions.
Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a respiratory virus that causes illnesses ranging from mild respiratory discomfort to severe complications. It spreads through respiratory droplets, similar to other respiratory viruses such as RSV and influenza. This article provides an overview of HMPV including its symptoms, transmission, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and how it differs from COVID-19.
George said this was detected months ago in Indian passengers who were screened at Singapore Airport.
A case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN. 1 has been detected in Kerala as part of an ongoing routine surveillance activity of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a senior official from the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) said on Saturday.
Even though the number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in the country, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating mild illness, they said.
Two Covid-19 related deaths and 20 fresh cases were reported in Karnataka, according to a Health bulletin issued on Wednesday.
A negative Covid report is a must for passengers transiting through China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, irrespective of their originating countries, before landing at any Indian airport, the Union health ministry said on Monday.
The city's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has put in place all necessary measures to implement the health ministry's latest COVID-19 guidelines on international passengers arriving in India, the private airport operator said on Wednesday.
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19 in a second RT-PCR test along with two support staff, causing fear and panic among rest of the Delhi Capitals squad in Mumbai on Monday.
Larger hospitals are not worried about a spike in cases, as they are now accustomed to converting ICUs and general wards into negative pressure zones or isolation rooms. For smaller hospitals, the task is tedious.
Strict norms for arriving international passengers, especially from 'at-risk' countries, will come into effect from Tuesday midnight and authorities are stepping their vigil for effective surveillance amid mounting concerns over the emergence of the coronavirus variant Omicron.
The Delhi Capitals contingent will undergo another round of RT-PCR testing on the morning of April 20th, the BCCI said in a statement.
In a letter to states and Union Territories, Union health secretary Sudhansh Pant underlined that "due to consistent and collaborative actions between the Centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the (COVID-19) trajectory at sustainable low rates".
The Karnataka government on Saturday mandated a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours for those arriving in the state by flights, buses, trains and personal transport from Maharashtra, following the recent spike in COVID cases there.
'There are not enough RT-PCR tests and they take a long time to do in specialised centres. So the world is using RA tests for the same reason that India is using them, and with similar somewhat spuriously comforting rationale'
The government decided to enhance surveillance and containment effort within the state by tracking and quarantining the primary and secondary contacts of the COVID-positive persons.
The guidelines released on Friday come into force from January 11 and will remain effective till further government orders.
'It is clarified that no data has leaked from Co-WIN portal and the entire data of residents is safe and secure on this digital platform,' the health ministry said in a statement.
Four players from Mumbai's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament have tested positive for COVID-19.
He also said that genome sequencing for Omicron detection is underway for such passengers.
The RT-PCR sample collection should have been done within 72 hours of scheduled time of landing at airports in Maharashtra, the order said.
Kiran More has tested negative thrice in RT-PCR tests after completing his isolation.
After winning the Asia Cup in the UAE, the Indian team had flown to the Caribbean via Amsterdam. A support staff member, who is fine now, had tested positive during the hard quarantine upon arrival in Guyana after catching the infection in transit and it is believed the players contracted the virus from him.
BCCI president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly continues to remain 'stable' after being tested COVID-19 positive three days ago.
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