Modi Govt. reviews Omicron situation with states |
Indian government`s top health official Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with all states and Union territories over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The meeting comes just a day after the Centre said no cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the country at present but pointed out that two clusters in Maharashtra and Karnataka are under investigation. Only a day before, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged all citizens to remain vigilant, adding that his government`s priority is their good health. Omicron, which was first found in South Africa, started making global headlines putting countries back on high alert. The WHO on November 27, declared Omicron a "Variant of Concern", placing the new strain into the most troubling category of Covid variants, along with Delta, and its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. India will implement tightened travel rules and checks for visitors, with cases emerging in Botswana, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia, Belgium, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Israel, and the Czech Republic. The cases in Hong Kong are particularly troubling because the two patients (arrivals from southern Africa) had been quarantined in separate rooms, suggesting the B.1.1.529 variant is airborne. Hospitals across India are on high alert and gearing up to handle any possible future surge. Besides reserving isolation wards and ICUs for Covid-19 patients, hospitals have decided to scale up screening of patients arriving with travel history.
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