List of at-risk countries, isolation rules updated in view of surge in Omicron cases
The Omicron spread is continuing unabated, and Indian has been forced to bring in some tough measures to curb infections. With a view to act more on the prevention side, the Union government has revised the norms for international passengers arriving in the country.
Besides, the government has also decided to update the list of countries which India sees as a potential risk when it comes to the Omicron surge.
At-risk list of countries updated
As per the new at-risk list of countries, countries in Europe including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia have been included.
Earlier on, when Omicron cases were diagnosed in South Africa last year, India had begun listing countries as per the risk factor. Precautionary measures were in place as travellers had been arriving in India after the new variant of the virus was found.
While some nations were categorised as risky, others were listed as posing medium risk and travellers arriving from these countries were monitored. However, there was no ban of on flights from these countries.
Isolation protocol
As per the new list too, travellers coming from the ‘at-risk’ countries will have to submit samples for testing once they land in Indian airports. Once the travellers report negative results, they can go under home quarantine for seven days, and an RT-PCR test has to be done on the 8th day. If that test too returns negative, they need to make sure that they are under self-monitoring for the next 7 days.
However, as per a HT report, if the travellers test positive at the airport or after seven days, they need to be sent to the isolation facility. The healthcare personnel will also isolate and monitor the persons who they had come in contact with.
Most of the states are making sure that these protocols are adhered to so that the number of cases are kept under control. However, there has been a spurt in cases over the past few days, which has made the healthcare sector under pressure yet again.