COVID-19 4th wave scare: Karnataka to impose fresh restrictions? Health Minister drops MASSIVE hint

COVID-19 latest updates: Amid the rising COVID-19 cases in China, Japan, South Korea, US and other parts of the world, it is expected that the Karnataka government would issue fresh guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly virus on Friday (December 23).

“I appeal to the people of Karnataka to take the booster dose at the earliest. People should wear masks, especially in indoor places and maintain social distancing. Today Union Health Min is chairing a meeting with us and accordingly will follow guidelines of Centre”, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar told ANI.

On Thursday, Karnataka government had issued fresh guidelines making face masks mandatory in closed spaces and air-conditioned rooms. The Karnataka government also made it mandatory to conduct Covid-19 test of people with influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).

Meanwhile, guidelines were issued by the Central government for international air passengers on Thursday and it was announced that 2% of travellers will be required to undergo random testing at airports due to the COVID surge in China and other countries.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will make sure that 2% of a flight's total passengers undergo Covid tests when they arrive at the airport, according to the Central Government.

The MoCA in an official statement said that the passengers are to be identified by the airline and will be allowed to leave the airport after sample collection. Those being tested positive for the infection will be isolated and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing. "This arrangement should come into practice with effect from 10:00 am on December 24," as per the statement from MoCA.

On Thursday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in Lok Sabha that random RT-PCR sampling of the passengers arriving at International airports has started across the country amid the recent surge of Coronavirus infection in various countries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States.