Stop flights from Omicron-affected countries: Delhi CM Kejriwal writes to PM

According to officials in the know of the matter, Delhi’s lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, the chairperson of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), will hold a meeting on Monday to take a call on pre-emptive steps to ensure that the new variant of the virus does not spread across the national Capital

Stating that India needs to do everything possible to prevent the Omicron variant of the coronavirus from entering India, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, urging him to stop incoming flights from countries affected by the new Covid-19 variant immediately.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (ANI File)

Kejriwal said that any delay may prove harmful if any person affected by the new strain entered India.

According to officials in the know of the matter, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, who chairs the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), will hold a meeting on Monday to take a call on pre-emptive steps to ensure that the new variant of the virus does not spread across the national capital. Officials of the civil aviation ministry, health ministry and the Delhi government will be part of the DDMA meeting scheduled to discuss and take steps against the threat of the new variant.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which HT has seen, Kejriwal wrote that India has fought a tough battle against Covid-19 for the last one-and-a-half years, and the country has recovered with great difficulty due to the selfless service of millions of Covid-19 warriors.

The B 1.1.529 variant, dubbed Omicron and classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization on Friday, has sparked fears across the world that it could trigger new waves.

Instances of the new variant have now been reported from Botswana, Hong Kong, South Africa, the UK, Australia, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Israel, and the Netherlands, among others.

A central government official on Sunday told HT that India will review its decision to allow regular overseas flights in light of the new variant, even as it may not impose a blanket ban.

Mandatory test for flyers from ‘at risk’ countries

Officials at the Delhi airport have ramped up measures to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with a specific focus on inbound travellers from Europe as well as 10 other countries that have recorded cases of the variant of concern.

According to new guidelines issued by the Union health ministry, it is mandatory for passengers flying in from Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel to get a fresh RT-PCR test at the airport, even if they have attached a Covid-19 vaccination certificate and negative test prior to boarding a flight.

“For these three countries, which have been deemed as the most high-risk in terms of the new variant, flyers have to wait at the airport’s waiting room, located near the RT-PCR testing facility. Flyers from other countries have to submit their samples and fill in all their details before leaving, but if they test positive, the government will call and ask them to quarantine,” said an airport official.

Dr Gauri Agarwal, founder of Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, the lab which carries out RT-PCR tests at the airport, said the facility is capable of handling 15,000 samples a day.

“There is no significant surge in the number of passengers being tested, but there is coordination with the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics in Delhi, which is carrying out the genomic sequencing of the samples tested at the airport to trace whether it belongs to the mutated strain or not,” she said, adding that similar arrangements had been made for flyers from the three countries, as done earlier for passengers from the UK which had to be mandatorily be tested and were only allowed to leave post-results.

“We need to ensure testing and vaccination do not remain interchangeable strategies, but rather both need to be implemented in tandem.” she added.

The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said the November 26 guidelines for 11 countries and Europe, were strictly being enforced, with all other social-distancing and Covid-19 protocols still in place as earlier.

DIAL said passengers are also not allowed to use seats with cross marks on them to ensure distancing, while masks will also still be required to be worn.