India to carry out mock hospital drills as it approves new nasal vaccine amid China Covid scare

Country also plans to make Covid negative reports mandatory for some international passengers

India will conduct mock drills for emergency responses next week to check the preparedness of hospitals amid a steep rise in Covid cases across neighbouring China.

Federal health minister Mansukh Mandaviya will also visit a government hospital during the nationwide mock drill, which will be conducted on 27 December.

The drill will be organised across all health facilities to ensure the operational readiness of facilities dedicated to Covid patients, availability of oxygen ventilators, logistics and human resources.

New Delhi has been reviewing its Covid policy following the detection of four cases of the BF.7 strain of the coronavirus, which has been driving cases in China.

Meanwhile, the health ministry on Friday approved the administration of an intranasal Covid vaccine, which will be included in the government’s vaccination programme as a booster dose for those above 18 years of age.

India’s drug controller in November approved the BBV154 nasal vaccine, produced by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, for restricted use in emergency situations for adults.

The two-drop needle-free nasal vaccine will be introduced on the government’s vaccine registration platform CoWIN on Friday evening. It will be available for administration in private healthcare facilities.

India is planning to make a Covid negative test report mandatory for passengers arriving from countries with a high number of positive cases, Mr Mandaviya said.

The health ministry is expected to issue a new advisory in view of Christmas and New Year celebrations. “The pandemic is not over yet,” it said.

“During the festive season, it is imperative to create awareness for adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour.”

Earlier on Thursday, prime minister Narendra Modi cautioned the public against the rise in cases and urged them to wear masks in crowded places and airports.

The federal government has instructed state administrations to send Covid samples for genome sequencing and alerted airports to conduct a random RT-PCR sampling among international passengers arriving from China and other countries.

The health minister told the parliament that states have been advised to make sure people wear “masks, use sanitisers and maintain social distancing along with increasing awareness for precautionary doses”.

India on Friday recorded 163 new cases of Covid. “The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent,” the government said.