NEW DELHI: Though COVID-19 has returned to headlines since the infection flared up in China and other countries, the situation at IGI Airport in the city remains normal so far, with less than a half per cent of positivity rate.
Official sources said only a couple of international travellers who arrived in India at the Delhi airport have tested positive in the last few days. “Both were vaccinated and showed no symptoms of the disease,” said a source said.
The results came out in the random testing of foreign travellers which was re-started on Saturday after a direction from the Centre. From Saturday till Sunday 7 pm, 455 random tests were conducted on international passengers.
“On average, around 25,000 travellers arrive at IGI. Authorities aim to test 500 of them randomly. As many as 110 passengers were tested on Saturday while 345 of them were tested on Sunday (till 7 pm). Of them, only two were positive cases,” the source said.
Two kiosks have been set up at the airport to collect the samples. Passengers are allowed to leave the airport after the samples are taken. Officials said the number of counters will be increased from Monday. According to the latest guidelines of the Union Health Ministry, 2 per cent of passengers arriving on each international flight will be subject to random testing at airports. Such travellers will be identified by the airlines concerned.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has announced that the RT-PCR test at airports is now mandatory for international passengers coming from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.