Skip to main content

Amid Omicron Variant Scare, Centre Extends Existing Covid-19 Guidelines till Dec 31

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday decided to extend the existing validity of COVID-19 guidelines and containment measures till December 31. The decision was announced in the backdrop of the emergence of a worrying new omicron COVID-19 variant and its spread in around 15 countries and more. Issuing an order on the matter, the home ministry has advised state governments to ensure strict compliance with the Health Ministry’s November 25 advisory in the wake of the omicron outbreak.

Amid mounting concerns over the potentially more contagious coronavirus variant Omicron spreading to many countries, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with states and UTs on Tuesday and advised them to ramp up testing for early identification and management of cases. While underlining that the new variant doesn’t escape RT-PCR and RAT tests, Bhushan asked states and UTs to ensure adequate infrastructure and supervised home isolation, a Union Health Ministry official said.

According to government officials, no case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in India yet. ln view of the possible threat that the new Variant of Concern (VoC ) can pose to the nation, the ministry has asked all states and UTs to focus on intensive containment, active surveillance, enhanced testing, monitoring of hotspots, increased coverage of vaccination and ensure augmentation of health infrastructure.

In a letter to states and UTs on November 28, Bhushan also stressed on rigorous surveillance of international passengers, ensuring prompt dispatch of samples for genome sequencing and strict enforcement of Covid Appropriate Behaviour to effectively manage this VoC.

The B.1.1.529 Covid variant or Omicron, first detected in South Africa last week, was designated by the World Health Organisation as a ‘variant of concern’, the health body’s top category for worrying coronavirus variants.

A senior official said no case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in India yet and Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia INSACOG is closely monitoring the situation and expediting the results of genomic analysis of positive samples of international travellers.

The Centre on Sunday introduced stricter guidelines for people travelling from or transiting through ‘at-risk’ countries and issued a slew of directions to the states for ramping up testing-surveillance measures and health facilities. It also decided to review the resumption of international flights.

The countries designated as ‘at-risk’ (updated as of November 26) include European countries, the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.



source https://www.india.com/news/india/amid-omicron-variant-scare-centre-extends-existing-covid-19-guidelines-till-dec-31-5117152/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UK Makes Face Mask Mandatory As Omicron Virus Spreads, 22 Test Positive

London: Face coverings are mandatory in shops and public transport from Tuesday as part of targeted measures” to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, 22 cases of which have now been detected in the UK after Scotland and England reported further infections. Individuals linked with all new cases, identified in the East Midlands, the East of England, London, and the North West, are all isolating and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said work is underway to identify any links to travel to southern Africa. “It is very likely that we will find more cases over the coming days as we are seeing in other countries globally and as we increase case detection through focused contact tracing, said Dr Jenny Harries, UKHSA Chief Executive. The enhanced measures, announced last week as a precaution while more information is gathered and assessed on the new variant’s transmissibility and any possible effect on current COVID-19 vaccines, also include compulsory PCR tests on arrival for all int...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekly RT-PCR Mandatory For Unvaccinated Employees In Kerala. Details Here

Thiruvananthapuram : In an effort to make everyone get vaccinated, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said anyone not following COVID prevention measures, like vaccination, will not be provided free treatment. He also said that non-vaccinated teachers and employees who work from offices or interact with public will have to submit weekly results of RT-PCR tests. “No more free treatment for those who do not cooperate with Covid prevention measures. Non vaccinated teachers and employees who work from offices or interact with public, will have to submit weekly results of RT-PCR tests, paid for by themselves, to ensure safety of all,” Vijayan said in a tweet. No more free treatment for those who do not cooperate with Covid prevention measures. Non vaccinated teachers and employees who work from offices or interact with public, will have to submit weekly results of RTPCR tests, paid for by themselves, to ensure safety of all. — Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) November ...
Post a Comment
Read more