Soon after the South African scientists identified a new version of the coronavirus, called Omicron, many countries have adopted new measures to curtail the spread of the virus.
Though it is unclear where the new variant first emerged, South African scientists have alerted the World Health Organization in recent days, and it has now been seen in travellers arriving in several countries, from Australia to Israel to the Netherlands.
On Friday, the WHO designated the new variant as a “variant of concern,” naming it “omicron” after a letter in the Greek alphabet.
Here are the updates about the Omicron variant from Monday:
The Indian government said that all international passengers must submit 14 days’ travel history and upload a negative RT-PCR test report on the Air Suvidha portal before their journey. The test should have been conducted within 72 hours before the journey. The revised guidelines come into effect from December 1.
The Union health ministry added that travellers coming from the countries at-risk would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing. The United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel are included in the list. Even if they tested negative, they had to be in home quarantine for seven days, followed by a re-test on the eighth day.
Earlier, the Centre said it would review the decision to resume scheduled commercial international passenger flights from December 15 as the reports emerged that the new variant’s mutations could make it more infectious and less susceptible to vaccines.
However, according to World Health Organization, it is not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in South Africa, is more transmissible than other variants or causes more severe disease than other strains.
AP reported that the global health body also urged countries not to impose flight bans on southern African nations.
A doctor in South Africa, who was the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain, said that Omicron symptoms were mild and could be treated at home.
In Thane district of Maharashtra, a 32-year old man who came from South Africa has tested positive for the coronavirus, The Indian Express reported. But, health officials are yet to confirm if the infection was due to the new Covid variant. “The passenger travelled from Cape Town to Delhi via Dubai,” Chief Medical Officer of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation Pratibha Panpatil said.
“He gave a sample in Delhi and was allowed to board the connecting flight to Mumbai. On arrival in Mumbai, he was found to be positive.”
Canada on Sunday reported its first cases of the Omicron strain, AFP reported. Both patients had recent travel history to Nigeria. “It is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said.
Botswana detected 19 cases of the new Covid variant, including the four infections declared last week by the southern African country, AFP reported.
The BBC reported that 13 people tested positive for Omicron variant after in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.They were coming from South Africa.
