NEW DELHI: There is no plan yet to make RT-PCR testing for Covid-19 mandatory at airports for travellers, sources in health ministry said on Thursday, as Covid cases saw a surge in India. Though the number of Covid cases are rising, led by the JN.1 subvariant, there are no immediate plans to either come out with a mask mandate or imposing travel restrictions between states, which are seeing a rise in the number of Covid cases, they revea;ed.
In the last two weeks, 22 people have died due to Covid-19 in the country, and most of them were found to be co-morbid. As many as 21 cases of JN.1, which has been declared by the World Health Organisation a “variant of interest,” has been detected in the country.
The officials also said that for now there is no push from the government for vaccination. On Thursday, India recorded 594 fresh cases while the number of active cases rose to 2,669 from 2,311 the previous day, as per the ministry data.
The death toll has climbed to 5,33,327 with six more people — three from Kerala, two from Karnataka and one from Punjab — succumbing to Covid-19. NITI Ayog member (health) DR V K Paul had said that the scientific community in India is closely investigating the new variant, and that states and UTs must ramp up testing. Though the number of cases is rising, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating mild illness, officials said.
No mask mandate either
Though the number of Covid cases, led by the JN.1 subvariant, is rising, there are no immediate plans to either come out with a mask mandate or imposing travel restrictions between states, which are seeing a rise in the number of Covid cases, officials said.