Omicron variant: Delhi in High Alert, Four passenger Travel from London test positive

Omicron variant: Four people who flew into Delhi from the London in the early hours of Wednesday have tested positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain if they have the new variant, Omicron, sources said.

All four have been admitted to the Delhi LNJP Hospital, where a dedicated ward has been set up for isolating and treating such patients, they added. “Four flights originating from Amsterdam and London and carrying 1,013 passengers landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi between 12 night and 6 am. Of these passengers, four have tested positive,” a source said. All four are Indian nationals, he added.

According to the Centre, the countries designated as “at-risk” are the European countries including the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. Travellers from the “at-risk” countries have to follow additional measures on arrival in India from Tuesday midnight.

Omicron variant fear starts in world Indian government issued new guidelines for international arrivals. From today, December 1, passengers flying in or transiting from countries affected by the new Covid variant Omicron will need a mandatory negative report of RT-PCR test conducted on arrival in India for leaving the airport, else they would be sent to government-identified quarantine centres.

Also Read: Omicron scare: Centre issued COVID-19 guidelines till 31 December

IPL 2022: KL Rahul Finally break the silence after out from Punjab Kings

The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday night issued an order asking airports to have “separate holding area (while passengers from at-risk countries are awaiting their RT-PCR test results).” “All incoming passengers accordingly may be advised, while filling the Air Suvidha portal, that they should plan their onwards journey keeping in mind the stay at the airport to obtain the test results,” it says.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has issued revised ‘Guidelines for International arrivals’.The updated guidelines require all travellers (irrespective of COVID-19 vaccination status) coming to India from countries identified as ‘countries at-risk’ to mandatorily undergo post-arrival COVID-19 testing at airport on arrival in addition to pre-departure COVID-19 testing undertaken 72 hours before the departure.

Also Read: IPL 2022: KL Rahul Finally break the silence after out from Punjab Kings