18 out of 16,000 flyers from at-risk nations Covid-positive; genome sequencing for Omicron under way: Mandaviya

More than 16,000 passengers from “at-risk” countries were screened at Indian airports so far, of which 18 were found Covid-19 positive, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday, noting that positive samples were sent for genome sequencing.

Responding to an 11-hour long debate on the Covid-19 situation in the Lok Sabha, the minister said swab samples of those passengers had been sent for genome sequencing to screen for the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all the states reminding them to enhance testing, complete the vaccination and keep a close eye on the disease clusters up to the district level.

Also Read | 'Impractical' to think Omicron will result in severe disease, death in India: Experts

“Since enhanced testing is the only strategy for detection of the virus, focused and strategic testing must be taken up in the states especially in and around new clusters of infection,” Bhushan wrote. He also advised the states to increase vaccination as fully vaccinated individuals are better protected.

The states have also been told to trace, quarantine and test all contacts of a positive person within 72 hours. The Air-Suvidha portal is to be checked daily to know the number of individuals coming from the “at-risk” countries.

Also read: INSACOG recommends Covid-19 booster shot for those above 40 amid Omicron concerns

The minister’s response in the Lok Sabha came on a day when a House panel came down heavily on the ministry for inadequate action to contain the spread of the epidemic.

“In view of the loss of life during the second wave of the pandemic, the committee believes that the measures taken by the Ministry to contain/prevent spread of SARS-COV-2 proved to be squarely inadequate,” Parliament Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare said in its report tabled in both Houses on Friday.

Referring to the omicron cases, the panel asked the Union Health Ministry to adopt zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy and closely track Covid cases across the country as it apprehended that a rise in mutations in the virus might lead to reporting of more virulent and transmissible strains of Covid virus in the country.

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