COVID-19 Omicron variant: Mumbai Mayor takes big decision as fear intensifies

Amid rising concerns over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar has said that genome tests of passengers coming from South Africa will be done. Mayor Pednekar said, "There is no restriction on outbound flights in any way. But this decision has been taken keeping in view the past experience. There is an increased risk of coronavirus in foreign countries, so those coming from outside will have to undergo genome tests." 

In addition to this, Mayor Pednekar has also asked the citizens of Mumbai to be extra vigilant and wear a mask, maintain social distancing at all times. "I request everyone to maintain social distance and wear masks so that this new menace can be stopped," she added.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has called a meeting of senior officials today (November 27) evening to discuss measures to deal with SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529 - dubbed as a 'variant of concern'. The meeting is called by BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. In the meeting, BMC will also discuss testing and contact tracing of passengers coming from other countries.

In other news, India has added several countries to the list from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing for infection.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also recently added Hong Kong and Israel to the list of countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on their arrival in India, including post-arrival testing considering the detection of the new COVID variant 'Omicron' in South Africa.