Thorough airport screening, strong vigilance of those coming from countries affected by new Covid variant, says K'taka Health Minister

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday said that the state government has started thorough airport screening and strong vigilance of those travelling from South Africa, Hong Kong, Botswana and other European countries, which have witnessed the new COVID variant.

"We have started thorough airport screening & strong vigilance of those travelling from South Africa, Hong Kong, Botswana and other European countries, which have witnessed the new COVID variant," Sudhakar said.

"PM Modi, in a meeting yesterday, guided and gave directions to all the vulnerable bordering districts. We have sent all the samples of travellers and colleges students who tested positive, to 3-4 genomic sequencing labs and are awaiting results for 5-6 days," he added.

In a high-level meeting chaired on Saturday by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the state government has been decided to intensify the screening of international passengers at the airports and make the RTPCR test reports compulsory for those arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra.

During the meeting, Bommai also instructed the officials to go on an aggressive campaign to trace those who have not taken the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and cover them at the earliest.

Highlighting the need for monitoring all international arrivals in the view of the new Covid variant Omicron, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked officials to review plans for easing international travel restrictions in light of the emerging new evidence.

PM Modi was briefed about the Covid-19 situation across the world, including the new Variant of Concern 'Omicron' along with its characteristics and the impact seen in various countries.

According to a release by the Prime Minister's Office, the Prime Minister highlighted the need for monitoring all international arrivals, their testing as per guidelines, with a specific focus on countries identified 'at risk'.

( With inputs from ANI )

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