No Case Of New Omicron Variant Detected In India Yet: Health Minister Mandaviya In Rajya Sabha

Mandaviya’s comment comes amid the scare of Omicron already having entered India among the people who tested positive for Covid-19 on the flight from South Africa to Mumbai.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said in the Rajya Sabha during question hour that no case of the new Omicron variant has been reported in India as yet. 

Mandaviya’s comment comes amid the scare of Omicron already having entered India among the people who tested positive for Covid-19 on the flight from South Africa to Mumbai.

Although no confirmed case of Omicron was found among the 100 tested, the Mumbai civic body is trying to track all the 466 passengers on the flight along with around 1000 travelers who landed in the last 14 days.

No case of COVID19 variant #Omicron reported in India so far: Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour

Source: Sansad TV pic.twitter.com/89sFr7uij1

— ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2021

The World Health Organization on Monday warned that the global risk due to the Omicron variant is very high given its multiple mutations. The Omicron variant of covid-19 was first detected in South Africa in the last week and was declared as the “variant of concern” by the WHO.

According to WHO, omicron has more than 30 mutations which makes it highly transmissible, and more data is awaited to identify its effect on the vaccine efficacy.

While many countries have put up travel restrictions and bans on flights from several African countries, India has mandated special measures for travelers including quarantine and RT-PCR tests.

Now that Omicron cases have been confirmed in many other countries including the UK and Germany, India has also ramped up tracking and containing the virus before it loosens out of hand and becomes a carrier of the next Covid wave in the country.

Meanwhile, central and state governments are trying to oversee the situation closely to be able to take action in case of an outbreak.