Authorities On High Alert Amid Increasing Omicron COVID Cases In India

Omicron, a new variant of Covid has created havoc across the world, governments are worried about its transmissibility and many countries have imposed another lockdown to avoid heavy loss. First detected in South Africa, Omicron is believed to be more infectious than all previous variants and has been declared as a " variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation (WHO). After South Africa, countries like Germany, Israel, Australia and have reported Omicron cases now India has also joined the list.

India's Take On Omicron

So far, six cases of Omicron have been identified, of which two were reported from Karnataka, and New Delhi has also reported Omicron cases. States Governments are on high alert and are providing guidelines to avoid the spread of the variant. Panicking is no solution instead, taking strict precautions can be a smart move. After the passage of second, people have become more careless regarding social distancing and wearing masks. Governments are emphasizing that mass gatherings are to be avoided. Since the cases reported in Karnataka between two men aged 66 and 46 are mild and no severe symptoms have been recorded, India cannot afford another horrified crisis after the second wave, as per reports in Oneindia.

However, it is too early to say that the Omicron variant by itself can give rise to the third wave of Covid-19 in the country. It is unlikely most Indians will be affected by the Omicron. Most Indians have antibodies against the deadly virus, and four-fifths of all adults have also been partially vaccinated.

Worrying Sings

On Sunday, the Union Health Ministry revised guidelines for international arrivals in the country, which came into effect from December 1 onwards. According to the latest guidelines, all passengers need to provide the self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha Portal before their scheduled travel and also need to submit the last 14 days travel details as well. The guidelines also mandated the uploading of negative RT-PCR test reports on the Air Suvidha portal before the journey. Furthermore, the CIVID test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey.

Meanwhile, as per reports in The Asia Age, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had held a review meeting with states and UTs 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.

Also read: