Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday directed the officials to screen all passengers arriving to the State at the international airport here for Covid symptoms and treat them as per the standard operation procedure (SOP).


The Chief Minister appealed to the public not to panic over the Omicron variant outbreak in China and said the Tamil Nadu government is fully geared up to protect the people.


Chairing a high-level meeting with Ministers and officials at the Secretariat in the wake of the recent surge in coronavirus cases triggered by the BF.7 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA 5 in China, Stalin stressed the need for continued monitoring.

Following the spike in Covid infections in the US, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and China recently, the Union Health Secretary issued a circular to the Indian States advising them to monitor the number of infections and carry out whole genomic-sequencing for the infected.

At present, the Omicron sub-variant XBB is the dominant sub-variant in Tamil Nadu. It is a re-combinant of BA.2. The BF.7 variant currently swarming in some Asian countries is a sub-type of BA.5, which has already been observed in Tamil Nadu in June, July and August, he said in a release.

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Despite the reduction in the number of Covid infections in Tamil Nadu, he said, the government hospitals have sufficient beds, medicines, testing equipment and oxygen supply for treating the patients. The facilities would be increased if need arises, he added.

Medical officials have been asked to test for Covid, ensure whole genome sequencing of samples collected from positive patients, monitor the spread of the disease and screen for symptoms like influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).

The Chief Minister called for strict compliance of the standard guidelines for coronavirus management, especially in public places and indoor areas, maintenance of social distance, approaching nearest hospitals if symptoms appear and get tested and treated for Covid as per the advice of the doctors.

"At the international airport, ensure that all passengers upon their arrival are screened, tested and treated as per the standard operating procedures (SOP). Also, the public should not have any unnecessary fear on the spread of the infection, as the government is ready to protect them," he said.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, Principal Secretary-Health and Family Welfare Senthilkumar, and Director of Public Health Dr T S Selvavinayagam and other officials participated in the meeting.