COVID-19: China returnee mother-daughter duo test positive in Tamil Nadu 

A woman and her daughter (6), who recently returned from China, tested COVID-19 positive at Madhurai airport in Tamil Nadu, PTI reported on Wednesday citing officials. When the duo arrived at the airport on Tuesday, they were subjected to an RT-PCR test, which revealed that they were positive. Officials said the duo has been isolated while their samples were sent for genome sequencing.

• The development comes amid a global COVID-19 scare triggered by the recent surge in infections in China.
• The Indian government, too, has alerted all states and union territories to prepare for possible outbreaks.
• To note, India has so far reported four cases of the Omicron BF.7 subvariant, which appears to be the reason behind the latest spike in COVID-19 cases in China.

According to health officials, the mother-daughter duo has returned from China via Colombo in Sri Lanka. They undergo routine and mandatory RT-PCR Test at the Madurai airport and their samples came COVID-19 positive. "We have isolated both of them. Their COVID-19 samples have been sent to the lab for further testing," ANI quoted Madurai District Collector as saying.

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu logged 10 fresh COVID-19 cases, while the number of active cases remained at 51. Notably, the officials claimed to have ramped up screening of all travelers arriving in the state following a dramatic increase in coronavirus infections in China and other countries. State Health Minister Ma Subramanian also stated that the administration is well-equipped to deal with the possible epidemic.

The Union Health Ministry recently released a six-point advisory for states and UTs to deal with any COVID-19 emergency amid a spike in cases in China. Last week, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also stated that it would be mandatory for passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong to show a negative coronavirus certificate.

On Tuesday, the health institutions conducted mock drills across the country following the instructions issued by the Centre to check COVID-19 preparation. The availability of beds, human resources, logistics, and the supply chain for medical oxygen was the main focus of the mock drills. The directive was issued amid the coronavirus outbreak in China that has sparked a worldwide panic.

During the second wave of coronavirus in India in 2021, which brought the healthcare system to its knees, the country witnessed mayhem. Deaths of COVID-19 patients in almost all states/UTs were recorded owing to the lack of medical oxygen and hospital beds.