Uttarakhand Health Secy directs officials to monitor passengers' inflow amid Omicron scare
Uttarakhand secretary instructed all the District Magistrates to monitor the people coming from outside along with intensive testing as a precautionary measure.
As the governments across the country enhanced their vigil amid the scare of the newly detected COVID variant ‘Omicron’, the Uttarakhand Health Secretary Dr Pankaj Kumar Pandey announced that all the passengers coming from outside in the state will be monitored and tested.
He further instructed all the District Magistrates of the state to monitor the people coming from outside along with intensive testing as a precautionary measure against the variant Omicron. The Uttarakhand Health Secretary also gave instructions to form monitoring teams at the district level for proper prevention.
Uttarakhand Health Secretary directs all passengers coming in the state to be monitored
Earlier on Saturday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami sounded an alert and urged the officials to ensure strict compliance of the COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in public places in the state to evade the chances of COVID spread. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s office informed on Saturday that by calling for an urgent meeting, Chief Minister Dhami directed the Chief Secretary, DGP and health secretary to ensure compliance with COVID-related guidelines.
Taking note of the fact that the newly detected variant from South Africa, B.1.1.529, named ‘Omicron’ by the World Health Organization Friday, can be potentially more deadly and infectious than the Delta variant that evoked the ferocious second COVID wave, CM Dhami directed the health secretary to be prepared for any unforeseen situation.
According to CMO, CM Chami has also ordered the health secretary to make appropriate provisions in hospitals and upgrade infrastructure to be ready for the impending emergency. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister further urged residents to follow COVID guidelines and get completely vaccinated as soon as possible.
COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron’
The fear of the new variant's spread has gripped the world, as the new variant has been detected with 50 mutations, with 30 on the spike protein of the virus. Over 100 in South Africa have been infected with the virus and cases of the same have also been discovered in Hong Kong, Israel, Belgium and Botswana.
The multiple mutations on the variant can either make it less or more transmissible, fatal and infectious. However, as per reports, the new variant had infected and invaded the immunity of the people who were vaccinated earlier.
Image: PTI/ Pixabay
Published By : Aakansha Tandon
Published On: 28 November 2021 at 19:35 IST