Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday claimed that the detection of Omicron Variant cases in various states and its threat may lead to the third wave of COVID 19 in Maharashtra if the covid appropriate behaviour is not followed strictly. He has however, ruled out the possibility of imposition of fresh restrictions especially when the government has already relaxed many in the past and opened up the economic activities.
‘’In Karnataka, two Omicron Variant affected persons were found and the government there has launched contact tracing in which few more may be detected. Against this backdrop, I spoke to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandavia and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on the Omicron Variant’s threat. Everyone should strictly follow the COVID 19 norms as non compliance amid the Omicron Variant may lead to the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic,’’ said Tope. He reiterated that there is no need for the government to introduce new curbs as it may adversely impact people across the sections.
Tope’s statement came a day after the Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday hinted that the state government may issue new guidelines next week after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s talks with the Task Force on COVID 19.
Meanwhile, today, state's first case of Omicron has been reported. A 33-year-old resident of Kalyan Dombivali Municipal corporation has tested positive for the variant and has not taken a single dose of vaccination yet.
However, the government has launched the surveillance of international passengers as per the Government of India guidelines. About 2,821 passengers arriving from Omicron high risk countries at Mumbai airport have been tested with RT-PCR test and 2 samples have been positive. Around 224 of 11,060 passengers arrived from other countries have been tested and 1 out of them was tested positive.
Additionally, fresh surveillance of international passengers, who have arrived since November 1 is underway. A total of 30 samples from both airport and field surveillance have been sent for genomic sequencing. Of these, 14 are sent to NIV Pune and 16 to Kasturba Hospital Laboratory.
