Highlights
- 7 days of home quarantine mandatory for those testing negative upon arrival
- After 7 days, the person must take another RT-PCR test
- If the results are negative again, they can come out of quarantine
New Delhi: Amid rising concerns due to the new coronavirus variant Omicron, the Delhi government on Monday (November 29) said RT-PCR tests will be conducted on all passengers arriving from six high-risk countries. Seven days of home quarantine will be mandatory for those testing negative upon arrival and after seven days, the person must take another RT-PCR test and if the results are negative again, they can come out of quarantine but will have to monitor their health for the next seven days. The decisions were taken in the 27th meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal today.
Also Read: Explained: What Are The Symptoms Of Omicron, A Variant Of Concern
According to sources, the six Omicron-affected countries discussed at today’s meeting include Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ways to prevent the spread of the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’ were also discussed in today’s meeting.
It was decided that a mandatory RT-PCR test would be needed for travellers coming from these affected countries and samples of those who test positive would be sent for genome sequencing, Mr Baijal said in a tweet.
Mr Baijal said,
To effectively tackle the emerging situation, Officials were advised to strictly enforce the guidelines for international arrivals as issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Also Read: A New Variant Of Concern: Is It More Dangerous? AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria Explains
“After detailed deliberations as advised by experts it was decided to continue to strictly adhere to the Test, Track, Treat strategy with special focus on surveillance, isolation of positive cases, contact tracing and strict enforcement of COVID Appropriate Behaviour,” Mr Baijal tweeted.
After detailed deliberations as advised by experts it was decided to continue to strictly adhere to the Test,Track,Treat strategy with special focus on surveillance, isolation of positive cases, contact tracing and strict enforcement of COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) November 29, 2021
“The Health Department was also advised to be in a state of preparedness and ensure adequate availability of beds, medicines, oxygen, etc to tackle any emergent situation that may arise. It was emphasized that the pace of vaccination should be enhanced for maximum coverage,” the Delhi LG further said in a tweet.
Also Read: South African Doctor Says Patients With Omicron Variant Have “Very Mild” Symptoms
During the meeting, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Nodal Minister for Corona Affairs Manish Sisodia said,
New variants have been discussed in the meeting. Experts said that since this is spreading very fast, there is still uncertainty about its impact. People all over the world are worried about how it is reacting. Whatever information the experts have about it, they informed DDMA about it and said that we are keeping an eye on it.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister and Nodal Minister for Corona Affairs Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Revenue Minister Kailash Gehlot, NITI Aayog member VK Paul, Chief Secretary Vijay Dev and officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation were also present at the meeting held by Delhi LG through video conferencing.
Also Read: Factbox: State Of Play Of India’s Healthcare Sector Exposed By COVID-19
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
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