Random Covid-19 Testing Begins for International Flight Passengers Arriving at Karnataka

Garlan

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Karnataka witnessed a sharp spike in fresh COVID-19 cases that grew at nearly 8 percent rate in the last week. The positivity rate in the week between June 9 and June 15 was at 2.44 percent.

Following a spike in COVID-19 cases, the Karnataka government has mandated random testing of incoming international flyers in the state. Following the Union health ministry’s February order that directed the state government to screen two percent of the international passengers by RT-PCR, Karnataka will randomly test passengers at the airports and genomic sequencing of all positive samples will also be done.

“Subject all positive specimens to genomic sequencing. Keep passengers who test positive under observation, quarantine, and manage as per prevailing guidelines,” the guidelines issued by the Karnataka government read.

Healthcare facilities have been asked to report all cases of illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) through the integrated Health Information Portal (IHIP). One in every 20 patients with symptoms of ILI and SARI will also be tested for COVID-19. The lab testing data for COVID-19 will also be shared on the ICMR portal.

The guidelines stress community-based surveillance with a focus on early detection of unusual events in the community, such as large outbreaks, an unusual presentation of cases, and mortality. The district-level response teams (RRT) will be tasked to assess the unusual events and undertake outbreak investigations when needed.

Karnataka witnessed a sharp spike in fresh COVID-19 cases that grew at nearly 8 percent rate in the last week. The positivity rate in the week between June 9 and June 15 was at 2.44 percent.

On June 17, the state recorded 833 fresh cases taking the tally of active COVID-19 cases to 4371. Thankfully, the recoveries have shown good signs with 458 patients getting discharged in the past 24 hours. Karnataka reported on death due to COVID-19 on Friday.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure strict implementation of COVID-19 guidelines at airports. The court asked DGCA to take severe action against passengers who fail to adhere to the protocols.

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