India has made Covid-19 negative test mandatory for travellers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from Jan 1, its health minister said on Thursday. Travellers from these places will have to upload their test reports on the Indian government’s Air Suvidha portal – which had been discontinued last month – before their departure, minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote on Twitter.

“This is being done in view of the evolving Covid-19 situation across the world, particularly in the aforesaid countries,” the Health Ministry said in a statement. It added that the test should be taken within 72 hours of travel to India. The new requirement for a Covid-19 test would be in addition to the random tests on 2 per cent of all international passengers arriving in India.

The ministry has directed the airlines to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the above changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from the listed high-risk countries who have submitted self-declaration form on the Air-Suvidha portal.

India on Thursday reported 268 new Covid-19 cases, the highest since Dec 2, according to data from the federal Health Ministry.

The country joins the United States, Japan, Italy and Taiwan in imposing mandatory Covid-19 tests for travellers from China, amid a Covid-19 surge there after the authorities relaxed strict zero-Covid rules.