Passengers arriving at Mumbai airport from South Africa, where a new coronavirus variant of concern has been detected, will be quarantined, Mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Saturday. “Every person returning from South Africa will be quarantined on arrival in Mumbai and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing,” she said.
She added: "There is an increased risk of COVID-19 in other nations, so those coming from abroad will have to undergo genome test. I request everyone to maintain social distancing and wear masks so that this new menace can be stopped," Pednekar said.
Amid rising global concerns over the new B.1.1.529 strain of the coronavirus which the World Health Organisation has named 'Omicron', PM Modi chaired a meeting with top officials on Saturday morning. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also urged Modi to stop flights coming to India from countries affected by the new variant.
The new variant, feared to have a high amount of spike mutations unseen before, has been detected in South Africa. The United States, Canada, Russia and a host of other countries joined the European Union in restricting travel for visitors from that region.
On Saturday, Sri Lanka and Thailand also announced ban on travellers from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
