Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to stop flights from countries affected by the new Covid-19 variant. He said: “Finally, our country has recovered from the corona. We should do everything possible to prevent this new variant from entering India.”
Nearly two years after the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is racing to contain a new variant of the coronavirus that may be more dangerous than the Delta variant. The World Health Organization named this new variant “Omicron” and classified it as “highly disseminated.” These variants have been found in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong.
Do not understand the actual risks of Omicron. However, the WHO said that early evidence suggests that it has a higher risk of re-infection compared with other highly contagious variants. This means that people who have contracted Covid-19 and recovered may be infected again. It may take several weeks to know whether the current vaccine is effective.
As a result, some countries have restricted the travel of tourists from the region, and this variant has caused a surge in new infections.
On the other hand, India has resumed its international flight schedule to and from India from December 15. The Union Health Department also stated that countries considered at risk of Covid-19 will only allow them to operate a certain percentage of flights. Scheduled flights before Covid.
This means that from December 15th, airlines will be allowed to operate 50% of scheduled pre-COVID passenger flights between India and South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana.
The ministry has added Hong Kong and Israel to the list of countries that require additional measures when travelers arrive in India, including consideration of post-arrival testing where the new COVID variant “Omicron” is detected in South Africa. At the same time, Prime Minister Modi convened a meeting with senior government officials to discuss the situation related to COVID-19 and vaccination. Cabinet Secretary Gaoba, Prime Minister Modi’s Chief Secretary, PK Mishra and NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr. VK Paul, and Federal Minister of Health Rajesh Bhushan will attend the meeting.
News Source : Mint
