Amid Covid scare, Indian commerce ministry asked to monitor pharma exports to China
Representative image of medicines
The Ministry of Commerce in India has been asked to monitor exports of medicinal products and equipment to China to ensure the domestic availability in case of any Covid spike in the country, news agency Reuters reported on Saturday (December 31) citing people familiar with developments.On Thursday, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had chaired a meeting with pharmaceutical companies and senior officials to review the availability of medicines and monitor their stocks and prices.
Pharmaceutical companies were asked to keep a close watch on the global supply chain scenario and ensure adequate stocks and availability of all drugs including those for treating Covid.
During the meeting, health minister Mandaviya said, "India's pharmaceutical industry is robust, resilient and responsive. It is due to their strength that we could not only meet our own demand during the pandemic but also be in a position to supply medicines to 150 countries."This was achieved without any fall in quality and no hike in the price of the medicines, Mandaviya stressed.
India has currently not seen any spike in infections, however, the worsening pandemic situation in other countries including China and Japan raises concerns.
The government has revised guidelines for international arrivals. From Sunday, international arrivals from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Japan will have to mandatorily undergo pre-departure RT-PCR testing which is to be conducted 72 hours before undertaking the journey.
The Air Suvidha Portal is operational with a provision to allow passengers to submit/upload negative RT-PCR test reports and also submit self-declaration forms.
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Authorities have already been carrying out random sampling at airports across India. ANI reported on Saturday that a total of 53 international travellers tested positive for Covid during the random sampling.
"A total of 53 international travellers, tested positive for Covid-19 during 2 per cent random sampling, at airports across the country, out of 5,666 samples collected so far. That`s only 0.94 per cent," people familiar with developments told the news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
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