India's capital city Delhi has been witnessing a massive surge in COVID-19 cases since last few days due to which flyers coming from states witnessing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic may now have to undergo coronavirus testing at the airport. The test will be conducted randomly.
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) announced this on Twitter on Wednesday. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will conduct the random Covid-19 screening of flyers arriving in the city.
The decision comes after the Centre identified Delhi as one of the 10 cities worst-affected by second wave of COVID-19 in the country. The Centre on March 30 said the covid situation was turning from "bad to worse" in the country with spurge in coronavirus infections in some states putting the whole country at risk.
The DIAL said, "As per the latest government mandate, DDMA shall conduct random COVID-19 testing of passengers coming from the states where cases are increasing."
"After the collection of samples, the travellers would be allowed to exit. However, the passengers who were found to be positive shall be mandatorily quarantined as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare protocol," the DIAL said.
According to the DDMA, the travellers will be able to exit after their samples have been collected. But those testing positive for the virus will have to mandatorily quarantine for 10 days either at their home or at a designated hospital.
For now, the random covid-19 testing covers only flyers as it will be carried out at Delhi airports. However, random testing may be extended to all the alighting points including railway stations and Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) across Delhi. The similar method was started in Mumbai weeks back by the municipal corporation.
The Centre yesterday said that, second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has worsened in six states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. These states have reported a sharp spike in Covid-19 infections recorded every day.
