According to data provided by the Union Health Ministry, travellers arriving in India from all over the world are randomly examined for Covid-19 at different Indian airports. Of these, 124 people were found to be positive, placing the positivity rate at 0.64%.
2% of international travelers subject to random screening from December 24, 2022 at Indian Airports
India had halted random testing for a month, but starting on December 24 it resumed it for 2% of all foreign travellers due to an increase in covid cases around the world. Prior to boarding an aircraft, travellers from six nations—China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand—must upload a negative RT-PCR report.
Most common lineage among international travelers to India is XBB
In addition, India has begun random screening of 2% of foreign travellers as of December 24 in an effort to contain the virus’s spread within the nation and among travellers while also taking into account the worldwide effects of Covid.
The genomic sequences of the 124 travellers who tested positive for the illness have been delivered. Recombinant XBB lineages, followed by BQ lineages, had the highest rate of infection among patients, according to reports of 40 samples. These 40 samples showed all nine lineages.
Health Ministry Data samples reports of lineages:
| Number of Samples | Lineages |
| 14 | XBB |
| 9 | BQ |
| 3 | CH |
| 2 | BA.5.2 |
| 2 | BN |
| 1 | BF.7.4.1 |
| 1 | BB.3 |
| 1 | BY.1 |
| 1 | BF.5 |
Also Read: India Logs 188 New Coronavirus Cases, Active Cases Decline To 2,554
According to a statement from WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, two strains, BA.5.2 and BF.7, are to blame for the recent increase in cases being reported from China.
As per Indian Sars CoV-2 genome sequencing consortium, INSACOG, 1.2% of the samples sequenced in December 2022 contained the variation BF.7.
Statistics from INSACOG, the dominant variant that is present in India is the XBB variant, a recombination of the Omicron sub-variants
BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. As of December 2022, this variant accounted for 40.3% of all sample sequences.
The Omicron sub-variants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75, which were recombined to become the dominant variant known as XBB in India in December 2022, accounted for 40.3% of all sample sequences. The XBB lineages are now outpacing others in the United States as well, with 44.1% of instances, up from 27.1% the week before.
According to INSACOG data, the BQ lineages are also expanding in India, where their share of sequences increased from 3.6% in November to 14.6% in December.
Despite the fact that the number of instances in India has not significantly grown, the country needs to remain attentive and watchful.
Also Read: Over Covid-19 Concern, Health Minister Says ‘Remain Alert And Do Not Panic’
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER.
