Omicron: Five more people added to the list of positive cases from ‘at risk’ countries, RT-PCR and quarantine mandatory for all overseas passengers

On Thursday, five more people arriving in Mumbai from 'at risk countries' tested positive for COVID-19 infection, raising fears about the new Omicron strain of the virus, according to officials with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Three had flown in from London, one from Portugal, and the fifth had flown in from Germany. 

 

As per the statement released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) spokesman, all the travellers who have been tested positive have been admitted to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) -run Seven Hills Hospital and their samples have been forwarded for genome sequencing.

 

As a result of the Maharashtra Government revising its air travel standards in response to global concerns about the Omicron strain of coronavirus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has revoked its prior recommendations and directed local airport authorities to obey the state's updated ones.

 

All international passengers arriving in Mumbai must have an RT-PCR test and be subjected to a 14-day home quarantine, as per the standards set by the airlines and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Regardless of immunization status, domestic travellers travelling to Maharashtra must produce a negative RT-PCR test 48 hours before departure.

 

In response to the Omicron variant worry, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had announced on Wednesday that all domestic travellers arriving at the Mumbai airport must have a negative RT-PCR report no older than 72 hours. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged the Mumbai airport operator to inform all domestic airlines about the new rule. Meanwhile, the city reported 108 instances of Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 7,62,989, with 16,340 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

 

 

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