Tag: Omicron

In view of the possible threat from Omicron, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra Monday advised the people of the State not to lower their guards against Covid-19.

Post reopening of schools and educational institutions in Odisha, the state is witnessing a rise in Covid-19 infections among students and staffers.

"It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g., more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta," the WHO said in a statement.

According to the new guidelines, the passengers travelling from countries that are categorised as 'at-risk' will have to undergo testing on arrival. If the passengers test positive, their samples will be sent for genomic sequencing, and they will be sent to institutional quarantine.

While the scare of a possible third wave is looming over schools across the State, the number of positivity has witnessed a spike recently; especially in the residential institutions and hostels.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new Covid variant detected in South Africa this week as the 'Variant of Concern' -- VOC, following the Technical Advisory Group meetings.

After a long hiatus of more than 20 months, the government had on November 26 announced the resumption of scheduled international commercial flights from December 15.

As the COVID Omicron strain scare has gripped several countries, Odisha government has issued fresh guidelines for the travelers with a view to contain the spread of the virus. State Health Services director Bijay Mohapatra informed that quarantine along with Covid testing and genome sequencing would now be mandatory for foreigners and returnees from other countries.

He also emphasised on door-to-door vaccination drive and directed to ensure that everyone adheres to the COVID guidelines released by the government. Mahapatra also ordered to take the violators into tasks and take stern action against them. 

Also, the government said four more countries are being added to the travel ban red list from 4 AM on Sunday: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. This adds to the six countries on the ban list since Friday South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia.