Amid rising COVID cases random testing for international passengers re-introduced

The Indian government has re-introduced the Covid-19 test amid the rapid rise in COVID cases in China, Japan, Brazil and the United States.

Notably, related measures have been initiated at airports for international travellers travelling back to India.

Samples of those arriving from foreign countries will be randomly tested for coronavirus, health ministry sources said on December 20.

"There are currently 10 different variants of coronavirus in the country, the latest variant is BF.7. At present, only different variants of Omicron are spreading in the country. Even today, the Delta variant is being seen somewhere in the country," sources told India Today.

Also Read: Amid rising COVID cases in China, hospitals filling up fast

On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed alarm over the rapid detection of Covid cases in China and noted that the country's hospitals are quickly becoming overcrowded.

Despite Beijing officials' claims that patient numbers are "relatively modest," Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme declared that the intensive care units (ICU) have been busy.

According to reports, the BF.7 sub-variant of the omicron is thought to be the primary cause of the current increase in Covid infections in China.

What is the BF.7 variant of Covid-19?

BF.7, a subline of the Omicron variant BA.5, is most contagious due to its high contagiousness, and ability to re-infect vaccinated individuals.

The baseline reproductive number for BF.7 is believed to be between 10 and 18.6, meaning that a person infected with this variant infects an average of 10 to 18.6 people with the virus.

Due to the high infection rate of BF.7, the number of Covid-19 cases in China is increasing rapidly, making the situation difficult to control.