![]() The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has categorised these international countries into three categories-”not at risk”, “at risk”, and air bubble, with separate restrictions and bubble flight arrangements, will continue as is with some capacity changes. As per the latest notification issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India will resume from 15th December 2021 barring 14 countries classified as “at risk”. The government on Friday announced revising travel guidelines for international travellers. Conducted immediately after the government announced the resumption of scheduled international flight services, which remain suspended since March 2020 due to the pandemic, the survey carried out by the online platform LocalCircles, also revealed that some 72 per cent of Indians want the government to implement mandatory RT-PCR test for Covid at boarding as well for international travellers coming from countries with high TPR. (PTI)Īs much as 64 per cent of respondents in a survey conducted over the government’s decision to allow scheduled international operations to and from India from December 15 want the Modi dispensation to reconsider it in the wake of a new Covid variant. A “variant of concern” is the WHO’s top category of worrying COVID-19 variants. It was on Friday designated as a “Variant of Concern” by the WHO, which named it “Omicron”. The new potentially more contagious B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 24, and has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong, Israel and the UK. “Even after testing negative they will have to remain at home and after seven days they will have to undergo a test once again, and after getting a negative report, one can go out,” he added. Observing that cases of the new variants have been detected in the last one week in countries like Botswana, South Africa, Hong Kong and Israel, state Health Minister K Sudhakar earlier today said guidelines have been given to airports stating those travelling from these countries to the city have to undergo a test despite having negative Covid test report, and they will be allowed outside the airport only after testing negative. Noting that ten countries have been identified as high risk, the DC said all those coming from there are made to compulsorily undergo tests, and those tested positive are being quarantined.Īs many as 584 people have arrived in Bengaluru from ten high-risk nations from November one to 26, he said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, both the infected persons have been quarantined, are being monitored by the authorities and their samples have been sent for further tests to ascertain the variant. So people need not worry,” Bengaluru Rural Deputy Commissioner K Srinivas, under whose jurisdiction Kempegowda International Airport comes, said. “From (November) 1 to 26, a total of 94 people have come from South Africa, out of them two have tested positive for regular Covid-19. ![]() ![]() ![]() Both of them have been quarantined and there was no need for worry, he said. (PTI)Īmid fears of the spread of new Covid strain ‘Omicron’ looming large, two South African nationals have tested positive for the coronavirus, and their samples have been sent for further tests to ascertain about the variant, a top official said on Saturday. A World Health Organisation panel has named the new COVID-19 strain ‘Omicron’ and classified it as a highly transmissible variant of concern, the category that also includes the delta variant. “Whether they would be effective against newly reported mutant B.1.1.529 needs to be seen over a period of time,” he said. He said that vaccines used in India - Covaxin and Covishield - have been reported to work against previously identified mutants from within India and other countries. “However, we have to wait and watch in order to figure out how the emergence of this new mutant evolve and play out at the population level,” said Panda, the head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division, Indian Council of Medical Research. “Vaccines which have been directed towards spike protein of the virus may find difficulty in mounting adequate immunity against the mutated version because of the structural changes that have been reported in the viral genome, according to WHO. Genomic variations and structural changes have been reported from other countries in the new variant of coronavirus but whether these alterations would impart increased transmissibility or make vaccines ineffective is under examination, senior ICMR scientist Samiran Panda said Saturday.
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