India Omicron confirmed cases reach 21 |
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been spreading fast in India. In the last one week, the number of people who contracted the new variant of the Coronavirus rose to 21. Seventeen new cases were detected on Dec 5 alone. Most of those who tested positive had either arrived from African countries or were in contact with such people. Several contacts of the new cases are under surveillance and have been isolated. The Modi government has put in place strict travel restrictions on people arriving from abroad, especially from countries identified as `at risk`. The emergence of the new strain of coronavirus has also dented India`s plans to restart international travel from December 15. One case was reported in New Delhi with a travel history to Tanzania. The 37-year-old from Ranchi had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg, South Africa, for a week. The person is fully vaccinated and is currently admitted to a local Hospital with mild symptoms. Nine cases were found in Rajasthan state`s capital Jaipur, 8 in Maharashtra, 2 in Karnataka and 1 in Gujarat. Omicron, first detected in South Africa on November 25, has been described as a "variant of concern" by the WHO. International airports across India are intensively screening and testing all passengers from `at-risk` countries. In line with central guidelines, all passengers from such countries have to take RT-PCR tests on arrival. The test result has to be negative in order to leave the airport. The list of countries deemed "at-risk" for now includes the United Kingdom, all 44 countries in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.
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