As Omicron cases emerge in the national capital, authorities at Delhi airport are gearing up to take action against travellers ignoring the seven days' home quarantine rules after arriving from “at risk" countries.
A senior Delhi airport official said they have been receiving complaints about passengers arriving from 'at risk' countries and not following seven days' home quarantine rule. Many of them were found meeting people and visiting places during the quarantine period.
“District administration and Delhi police have been asked to verify and report the status of people under mandatory home quarantine. If they are found flouting the COVID-19 protocol, then action will be taken against them," said a senior official at Delhi airport.
“The complaints of flouting quarantine rule were found common in locals who have recently come from 'at risk' countries. They have filled self-declaration form mentioning their location and address before leaving the airport. If required tough action will be taken against such people. In the case of foreign travellers, they submit their hotel booking details with the authorities at the airport which can be easily verified," he added.
More than 1,000 travellers arrive at Delhi airport daily. “We have instructed hotels to provide all possible assistance to foreign travellers who are spending their quarantine period in hotels," said the official.
Eleven countries have been put under "at risk" category. Travellers coming from these countries need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing.
On December 5, Delhi reported its first case of Omicron, when a man who arrived from Tanzania was found infected and was admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital in the national capital.
The new variant of COVID-19 was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9 this year.On November 26, the WHO named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'. The WHO has classified Omicron as a 'variant of concern'.
(With ANI inputs)
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