Omicron: Union Min Scindia asks Delhi Airport to implement crowd management strategies

As the Omicron variant threat looms in India, the Delhi International Airport has been witnessing chaotic scenes owing to mismanagement. Hundreds of passengers were seen queuing up for their RT-PCR tests, thereby leading to a violation of COVID-19 norms. Therefore Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia chaired a high-level meeting to address the situation.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) officials, the meeting comprised of officials from Delhi Airport, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Immigration and COVID-19 testing lab company. The MoCA officials further informed that Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia issued directions to Delhi Airport to implement strategies for crowd management at the Delhi Airport. 

Delhi Airport sets up 20 counters for international flyers 

Meanwhile, the Delhi airport authorities on Saturday informed that 20 dedicated counters have been set up for the passengers arriving from "at risk" countries and having pre-booked their mandatory COVID-19 test after many flyers complained of chaos and crowding at the terminal following the implementation of new travel guidelines. As per the Union Health Ministry's new guidelines issued earlier this week, all passengers coming from "at-risk" countries have to compulsorily undergo PCR test and five per cent of passengers arriving from other countries would also have to take the test on a random basis. In addition, the passengers will have to wait for the results before leaving the airport or taking a connecting flight, according to the guidelines.

"For the convenience of the passengers, DIAL has set up 20 dedicated counters on arrival piers for passengers who have pre-booked their RT-PCR/Rapid PCR test," Delhi International Airport Limited said

The first case of Omicron detected in Delhi

Delhi reported its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant on Sunday. A 37-year-old man who arrived in Delhi from Tanzania has tested positive for the new variant, informed Health Minister Satyendar Jain.  This is the fifth such case in the country. The patient is currently admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital and has mild symptoms, hospital officials said. "So far, 17 patients of COVID-19 and six of their contacts have been admitted to the Lok Nayak Hospital. The Omicron variant has been found in one of the 12 samples sent for genome sequencing so far, according to a preliminary report," Jain said.

"The patient is an Indian and had returned from Tanzania a few days ago. He has mild symptoms," an official told PTI.

"The patient's travel history is being collated and his contacts are being traced," he said

With PTI inputs 

Image: Twitter - @pratiyush1/ANI