- Tuesday, April 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
ARVIND Kejriwal, the chief minister of the state of Delhi, on Sunday (28) urged prime minister Narendra Modi to stop flights reaching India from countries affected by a new variant of coronavirus with immediate effect.
“Our country has fought a tough fight against corona for the last one and half years. With great difficulty and due to the selfless service of millions of our Covid warriors, our country has recovered from coronavirus,” he wrote in the letter.
ALSO READ: Modi orders review over Omicron variant concerns
Kejriwal, who leads the Aam Aadmi Party (common man’s party), said in view of the new variant, a number of countries, besides the European Union, have suspended travel to the affected regions.
India to resume international flights from December 15
“We should do everything possible to prevent the new variant of concern, recently recognised by the WHO, from entering India… I urge you to stop flights from these regions with immediate effect. Any delay in this regard may prove harmful, if any affected person enters India,” the letter read.
On Saturday (27), Modi sought a proactive approach and a review of plans for easing international travel curbs and requested people to be more cautious.
The prime minister, who was briefed by officials about the recently discovered Omicron variant during a comprehensive meeting in New Delhi to review the public health preparedness and Covid-19 vaccination, also stressed on the need for monitoring all international arrivals and their testing as per guidelines, with a special focus on countries that have been termed to be ‘at risk’.
Earlier in the week, the Indian government asked all states and union territories of the country to conduct rigorous training and testing of all international travellers coming from or transitioning through countries like South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana where the variant has been reported.
The Kejriwal government, meanwhile, has called a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Monday (29) to talk about steps that need to be taken in view of the new variant.
