Authorities at the Delhi airport on Wednesday announced that they will conduct random coronavirus testing of passengers travelling to the Capital from other states, amid a surge of infections.

Those who are found to be positive will be mandatorily quarantined for 10 days as per the health ministry protocol, according to a statement by the Delhi Airport.

The new rules were put in place as per a mandate issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on March 22, to randomly test passengers at airport and all railway stations, in view of the rise in coronavirus cases in the city. “Since there are festivals coming up, experts and the lieutenant governor stressed on the need for more caution and regulation,” an official had said on the order.

The national Capital has witnessed a steady rise in the number of cases in recent weeks. On Tuesday, the city recorded 992 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the national Capital to 6,60,611, according to a health bulletin.

This was significantly lower from the 1,904 Covid-19 cases recorded on Monday, which was the highest one-jump since mid-December. However, the number of tests conducted on Tuesday stood at 36,575, which was lesser than Monday’s count of 68,805.

India on Wednesday registered 53,480 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 1,21,49,335, data from the health ministry showed. With 354 deaths, the toll climbed to 1,62,468. The Union health ministry has warned against complacency, saying the coronavirus situation has “gone from bad to worse” over the last few weeks.