No second Covid-19 booster dose required: Report

While the world is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases due to a new variant of XBB, first found in China, in India, it does not seem as virulent. On Tuesday, India registered 134 coronavirus infections, with active cases declining to 2,582. The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,78,956). The overall death toll to date stands at 5,30,707.

Dr M Wali, a Physician at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi told ANI news agency that the new Covid variant of XBB.1.5 is not virulent in India as 90% of the eligible population has been vaccinated.

However, 53 international travellers tested positive for coronavirus during the random sampling at airports across the country until 31 December.

This came after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the country will start the 2% random testing for Covid of international travellers arriving at Indian airports.

In light of the surge in Covid-19 in some countries, hospitals across India conducted a Mock drill for Covid-19. The purpose of the mock drill was to evaluate COVID-19 preparedness in terms of resources, protocol, and personnel.

As there have been reports of a surge in Covid cases in some countries, the operational readiness of health facilities is being reviewed in all States and Union Territories in case of another wave.

Earlier on December 27, the government of India started randomly testing international passengers arriving at the airports for Coronavirus from 24 December onwards.

Ministry made RT-PCR reports mandatory for all international passengers travelling from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand to India before departure and uploading a report on the Air Suvidha portal from January 1, 2023.