41 passengers from ‘at-risk’ countries undergo RTPCR test in Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad: In the last 24-hours, the surveillance teams of the state health department at Shamshabad airport have tested 41 international passengers, who arrived from the 12 ‘at-risk’ countries where Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported. All the international travellers have tested negative for Covid-19 and are now in mandatory home quarantine, senior […]

Hyderabad: In the last 24-hours, the surveillance teams of the state health department at Shamshabad airport have tested 41 international passengers, who arrived from the 12 ‘at-risk’ countries where Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported.

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All the international travellers have tested negative for Covid-19 and are now in mandatory home quarantine, senior health officials said. Apart from passengers arriving from at-risk countries, the surveillance teams are also randomly collecting at least 5 per cent of the samples from international passengers arriving from any foreign country at the Shamshabad international airport.

Since November 11, a total of 1570 international passengers have been screened at the airport. Senior health officials said only 13 individuals (out of the 1570) were partially vaccinated and had to undergo RT-PCR testing at the airport itself. All of them had tested negative and were directed to be under home quarantine for 14-days.

Meanwhile, the health department will start implementing the new guidelines for international arrivals issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) from Tuesday midnight.

Adequate infrastructure and manpower is available to conduct the screening and RT-PCR testing of all the international passengers who arrive to Shamshabad airport from at-risk countries. The 12 at-risk countries include all the countries in Europe and South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

“Whether it is the recent Omicron variant or the existing Delta variant, the fact remains that the spread of Covid-19 depends on how people behave. In the background of Omicron being reported, we urge people to stick to extensive use of masks, physical distancing and sanitization,” Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao on Tuesday said.

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