Passengers coming from South Africa to Mumbai will be tested and quarantined due to the new coronaviruses variant called Omicron, said Kishori Pednekar, mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Mumbai on Saturday. The new variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.
Some of the samples taken from passengers will be sent for genome sequencing to check if they are carrying the new COVID 19 variant, which has been declared by the World Health Organisation WHO People as a variant of concern about the new Covid variant. Pednekar said people coming from South Africa will be quarantined and genome sequencing will be done with thorough checks.
Christmas is coming to a close and many people from around the world will come to Maharashtra and Mumbai to visit their families. The BMC is taking all precautionary measures. This variant has become a matter of concern in many countries and we need to be prepared, she added.
Pednekar also asked the Mumbaikars to wear face masks, use sanitisers and keep maintaining social distancing.
There has been no formal press release from the BMC or the Mumbai airport regarding quarantine rules for passengers traveling from South Africa to Mumbai.
The government has announced on Friday that scheduled international passenger flights will resume on December 15 after being suspended in March 2020. It also called for stringent screening of passengers from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong.
The Union Health Ministry stated that there was serious public health implications in view of the recently relaxed visa restrictions and opening of international travel.
According to the decision of the government, airlines from December 15 will be allowed to operate 50 per cent of their pre-Covid scheduled passenger flights between India and South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana.