Airport authorities across India began random testing of international passengers for COVID-19 on Saturday, December 24. Officials said the random testing of passengers commenced in the morning at various airports, including those in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Indore and Goa. The Union government’s new guidelines state that 2% of international flight passengers will be randomly subjected to COVID-19 testing, and these will be identified by the respective airlines.
There are 29 international airports in the country and the number of international passengers who arrived on December 23 stood at 87,966, according to data from the civil aviation ministry.
As per the guidelines, after submitting the samples, the international passengers concerned can leave the airport. Thermal screening will be done for all passengers at the point of entry and those found to be symptomatic during screening will be immediately isolated.
On Saturday, December 24, the Union Health Ministry updated the COVID-19 protocol to be followed by international passengers arriving in India. As per the document, a subsection or 2% of the flight’s passengers will be randomly tested for the coronavirus. While the use of masks during flights and in the airport premises has not been made mandatory, the Health Ministry said that it would be preferable.