After a wave of measures at Delhi Airport, first to solve chaos, then to control Covid, the random Covid testing is latest one making headlines. As per latest reports, under the new rules of testing international passengers at Delhi Airport, some have also tested Covid positive.
According to a PTI report, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), as many as 455 passengers have gone through random Covid tests as a part of new rules by the government. Out of these, less than half per cent have turned out to be Covid positive cases, as per the report.
While the whole idea of subjecting international passengers to random Covid tests at the airport was to ramp up protection efforts, as of now, the move is only restricted to about 2 per cent of international passengers. The same has also been done as several countries like China have reported a surge in Covid infections, especially with a new Omicron variant.
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The report adds that Genestrings Diagnostic Centre is the one conducting random Covid tests at Delhi Airport. In a previous statement, the company also said that by the end of Saturday, it had conducted approximately 110 tests.
Putting some figures into perspective, the government’s rules suggest that about 2 per cent passengers coming via international flights have to be tested. The PTI report adds that on an average 25,000 international passengers arrive at Delhi Airport and hence, out of all of them, about 500 are being tested for Covid on a random basis.
“We have increased the manpower of lab technicians at the facility to ensure availability and timely reporting along with being fully prepared for COVID management," PTI quoted Gauri Agarwal, founder of Genestrings as per an official statement.
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