Anyone Coming From New Variant-hit South Africa To Be Quarantined In Mumbai: What We Know
All those arriving in Mumbai from South Africa will be tested and quarantined, announces Mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).This comes in the view of the new coronavirus variant named Omicron that has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.
"Genome sequencing of passengers"
Genome sequencing of passengers, if found positive, will also be done, the mayor said on Saturday.Genome is like an instruction manual that contains information about the make-up of an organism, and genome sequencing is a technique that reads and interprets genetic information.
"There are concerns in Mumbai about the new variant of coronavirus. Genome sequencing of (positive) passengers coming from South Africa will be done. There is no restriction on outbound flights in any way. But this decision has been taken keeping in view past experience," Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said today.
'Variant of concern'
Pednekar added: "Christmas is round the corner and many people from around the world will come to Maharashtra and Mumbai to their families. The BMC is taking all precautionary measures. This variant has become a matter of concern in many countries and hence, we need to be prepared."
She urged the citizens of Mumbai to continue wearing face masks, using sanitiser and maintaining social distancing.At present, no formal press release has been issued by the BMC or the Mumbai airport on quarantine rules for passengers arriving in Mumbai from South Africa.
About Omicron
After being detected in Botswana in southern Africa on November 9, omicron is fast spreading across the world, jumping continents in matter of days. It has so far been reported in Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already categorised omicron as 'variant of concern'. It has 32 mutations, more than any other variant of coronavirus. Till now, the delta variant was wreaking havoc across the globe; omicron has twice as many mutations as delta.
People from Africa banned to travel
Countries have raced to announce travel bans. Thailand is the latest to join the growing list, banning entry of people from eight African countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Earlier, the European Union, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Russia too announced similar curbs. The United States too has imposed travel ban from the region, with exceptions for American citizens and permanent residents and for a few other categories, including spouses and other close family.?
