Coronavirus Live Updates: 39 international flyers test Covid positive; govt considers mandatory negative RT-PCR report for China arrivals

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Tuesday that Japan will tighten border controls against Covid-19 by requiring tests for all visitors from China starting Friday as a temporary emergency measure against the surging infections there. The announcement comes days after the World Health Organization said it was very concerned about rising reports of severe cases across China after the country largely abandoned its “zero-Covid” policy.

Mock drills were being conducted at some of the hospitals in Delhi on Tuesday to assess their preparedness, including availability of beds and manpower, to deal with any increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the health portfolio, visited the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital around noon to assess the drill.

China's sudden Covid-19 outbreaks "demonstrate a lack of effectiveness of its vaccines", prompting global concerns, particularly in nations where Beijing's vaccines have been accepted, Tibet Press reported.

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday said the BF.7 variant of COVID-19 is transmissible with low virulence, but emphasised that senior citizens, children and pregnant women must remain cautious.

He said COVID response mock drills to check readiness to deal with any increase in the number of coronavirus cases are in place in all districts and talukas across the state.

"BF.7 is a sub-variant of Omicron, but the only difference between other variants and this is that the rate of its spread is high, but does not have much virulence," Sudhakar told reporters here.

China will eventually publish data on Covid-19 cases once a month when the disease comes under Category B management, an official at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

China's management of Covid was downgraded to the less strict Category B from the current top-level Category A, as the disease has become less virulent and will gradually evolve into a common respiratory infection.

Bharat Biotech announced that the nasal vaccine will be available in private hospitals at a fixed the price at Rs 800 + GST + hospital charges, as per the sources.

Hospitals across Delhi will conduct mock drills on Tuesday to assess their preparedness, including availability of beds and manpower, to deal with any increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The Centre issued an advisory to this effect on Monday amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some countries.

In the national capital, the drill will take place at Delhi government-run facilities like LNJP Hospital and private hospitals.

Following the Centre's directions, a mock drill will be held in all hospitals on Tuesday to check their readiness for Covid management, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the health portfolio.

Chinese authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But even as cases surge, 64-year-old Li Liansheng said his friends are alarmed by stories of fevers, blood clots and other side effects.

“When people hear about such incidents, they may not be willing to take the vaccines,” said Li, who had been vaccinated before he caught COVID-19. A few days after his 10-day bout with the virus, Li is nursing a sore throat and cough. He said it was like a “normal cold” with a mild fever.

China has joined other countries in treating cases instead of trying to stamp out virus transmission by dropping or easing rules on testing, quarantines and movement as it tries to reverse an economic slump. But the shift has flooded hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients.