India detected a total of 11 subvariants of Covid-19 in international travellers who arrived in the country during Dec 24 to Jan 3, health ministry sources said on Thursday, adding they were a mix of new and existing variants.
The variants detected were all sublineages of omicron variant of Covid, including the BA.5.2 subvariant and a sublineage of BF.7 subvariant that were driving China's recent coronavirus outbreak.
Hundreds of Covid-19 variants are currently circulating globally, but a handful that are of concern and are being monitored, reports Reuters.
Of the 19,227 passengers who were tested for Covid-19 during the period, 124 were found positive, the sources said.
The Indian government has made a Covid-19 negative test mandatory for arrivals from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
The new requirement is in addition to the random tests on 2.0 per cent of all international passengers arriving in India.