Amid Concern Over Omicron COVID Variant, Mumbai & Others Issue New Travel Rules

The guidelines comes after the WHO dubbed the new 'Omicron' COVID-19 strain a 'variant of concern.'

In a first, the Muthuvan tribals of Tamil Nadu's Theni district have shown how a community can remain COVID-19 free if it strictly follows pandemic rules. Image used for representative purposes.

(Photo: FIT)

A day after the World Health Organization dubbed the new 'Omicron' COVID-19 strain a 'variant of concern', a number of Indian states on Saturday, 27 November, issued directions to prevent the spread of the viral disease.

Every person returning from South Africa will be quarantined on arrival in Mumbai and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar announced on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has called a meeting of senior officials at 5:30 pm today (Saturday), in order to discuss further action.

Meanwhile, numerous other states also galvanised into action.

Gujarat Mandates RT-PCR Testing For Fliers From South Africa, China, Other Countries

The Gujarat government has mandated RT-PCR testing for travellers from a number of countries upon landing in the state.

These countries are Europe, UK, Brazil, South Africa, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, as per ANI.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that people coming from countries where the virus is prevalent will be required to undergo quarantine upon arrival in Bengaluru.

"We're constantly in touch with the Union Health Ministry and have information that this new strain in South Africa, Hong Kong, Israel, and Botswana is very contagious and has overtaken the Delta variant," Sudhakar was quoted as saying by ANI.

"People coming from these affected countries will take the RT-PCR once they land in Bengaluru. If found positive, they'll stay in and around the airport and will be treated, if needed. Home quarantine will be mandatory after their arrival," he added.

Ensure Adherence to COVID Norms, Make Arrangements in Hospitals: Uttarakhand CM Issues Directions to Govt Officials

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the chief secretary, the director general of police, and the health secretary to ensure adherence to COVID-appropriate behaviour in view of the new variant of COVID-19, and to make all necessary arrangements in the hospitals.

"The Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Dhami has appealed to the people of the state to follow the COVID-compliant behavior in view of the new variant of COVID-19. All preparations have been made for effective control of COVID by the state government and full public support has been received," the chief minister's office said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday had chaired a high-level meeting on the prevailing COVID-19 situation and vaccinations.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged PM Modi to halt flights from those countries where the new variant has been detected.

"I urge Hon’ble PM to stop flights from those countries which are affected by new variant. With great difficulty, our country has recovered from Corona. We shud do everything possible to prevent this new variant from entering India (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

(With inputs from ANI)