110 international passengers randomly tested for Covid-19 at Delhi airport

The recent 'Guidelines for International Arrivals' were followed accordingly, and 110 international passengers were tested randomly on day 1 at the Delhi IGI, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre said

The recent 'Guidelines for International Arrivals', issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), after Covid-19 resurfaced in some countries, to conduct random testing of two per cent international passengers (on the flight) at Airports, was followed accordingly and 110 international passengers were tested randomly on day 1 at the Delhi IGI, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre said on Sunday.

The guidelines, issued by Health Ministry, provide the protocols to be compiled by International travellers as well as points of entry (airports, seaports and land borders) starting from December 24, 2022. A subsection (2 per cent of the total passengers on the flight) is undergoing random post-arrival testing at the IGI Airport Delhi.

"On average, approximately 25,000 travellers arrive at the IGI, Delhi Airport, out of which 500 random passengers are being tested. By the end of Day one Genestrings had conducted approximately 110 tests," Dr Gauri Agarwal, Founder of Genestrings Diagnostic Center told ANI.

Genestrings Diagnostic Centre's lab at the Delhi airport resumed testing which was otherwise stopped after restrictions were taken off at the Delhi international airport, for the inbound passengers.

After submitting samples for random testing, travellers will be allowed to leave the airport.

"The timely decision by the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to start the random testing at the airport is a much-needed prevention measure that will curb the spread of infection in the country. We have increased the manpower of lab technicians at the facility to ensure availability and timely reporting along with being fully prepared for COVID management," said Dr Gauri Agarwal, Founder of Genestrings Diagnostic Center said.

Genestrings was the first lab in the country during the pandemic to not only establish an RT-PCR testing lab at any International Airport but deliver RT-PCR results in 4 hours, when even the developed nations were taking 24-48 hours for the results.

Genestrings then went on to become one of the largest COVID-19 testing facilities conducting over 20,000 tests per day. The lab at the Delhi international airport was also appointed by the Canadian government as the sole COVID-19 testing facility in India for Canada-bound passengers.

Genestrings conducted over 2.5 million COVID tests in the past two years.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) in collaboration with Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, has made all the necessary arrangements on time keeping in mind the fresh guidelines and passenger convenience. Similar arrangements were made earlier as well during the previous waves of the pandemic to ensure adherence to Covid-19 protocol during the passengers' waiting period inside the terminal.