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

Toyota Yaris Discontinued In India, Competition Lessens For Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz

New Delhi: Toyota Kirloskar Motor has officially discontinued the Toyota Yaris from the Indian market. The mid-size sedan rivalled the likes of the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Skoda Rapid and Volkswagen Vento. With the Toyota Yaris axed, the automaker’s product portfolio now includes the Toyota Glanza, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Toyota Innova Crysta, Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Camry and Toyota Vellfire. With four variants (J, G, V and VX) on offer, the Toyota Yaris was available at a starting price of Rs 9.16 lakh (ex-showroom). It employed a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder inline dual VVT-i petrol engine that developed 107PS of maximum power and 140Nm of peak torque. The transmission options included a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed CVT-i automatic. According to reports, Toyota Kirloskar Motor will introduce a rebadged version of the Ciaz in the Indian market and it might be christened as Belta. The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz-based Toyota Belta will be the third vehicle after the Maruti Suzu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark Zuckerberg Changes Facebook’s Name To Meta In Rebranding Effort; More Focus On Virtual World

San Francisco : In a rebranding effort, Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday changed Facebook’s name to ‘Meta’ to represent a future beyond just its social network. “We’ve learned a lot from struggling with social issues and living under closed platforms, and now it is time to take everything that we’ve learned and help build the next chapter,” Zuckerberg said during a conference. Giving further details, Zuckerberg in his opening remark said privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse. The development comes at a time when Facebook continues to battle criticism over its market power and its content moderation practices. In the recent past, Facebook, which reports about 2.9 billion monthly users, has faced increasing scrutiny from global lawmakers and regulators. It must be noted that Zuckerberg over the period of time has increasingly been promoting the idea of Facebook, which has invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality. Facebook in a statement said it would introduce a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tamil Nadu YouTuber Held For Controversial Tweet On Coonoor air crash

Chennai: A YouTuber named Maridhas has been arrested by the Tamil Nadu police from his residence in Madurai for his controversial tweet on the IAF chopper crash near Coonoor on Wednesday, in which India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel were killed. In the tweet, which he later deleted, Maridhas asked whether Tamil Nadu was turning into Kashmir under DMK rule. He also said in a separate tweet that cadres and sympathisers of DMK made fun of the passing away of General Rawat, adding that DMK was the first choice for separatist forces. BJP cadres had blocked the entry of police to his residence at Surya Nagar in Maduria and the police had to use force to take him into custody. Maridhas has been charged under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code by the Cyber Police. source https://www.india.com/news/india/tamil-nadu-youtuber-held-for-controversial-tweet-on-coonoor-air-crash-5132165/
Post a Comment
Read more