No Omicron case in India yet: Health minister Mandaviya

INDIAN health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday (30) told the parliament that Omicron, the new Covid-19 variant of concern, has not been reported in India yet.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament of which he is a member, Mandaviya said, “The Omicron variant has been detected in 14 countries so far. There is no case of Omicron in India yet. We are immediately checking suspicious cases and conducting genome sequencing. We are also taking all possible precautions.”

ALSO READ: Omicron: India issues new guidelines for foreign travellers

The winter session of the parliament kicked off on Monday (29).

He also said that the government has issued an advisory based on global developments related to the new variant and is keeping a close watch on the country’s ports. He also told the house that studies are being undertaken on the Omicron strain.

Kerala not to give free treatment to unvaccinated Covid patients

The minister, who took over from Dr Harsh Vardhan in July, stressed on the need to take precautions.

“We have learnt a lot during the pandemic. We have resources and labs to check. All measures have been taken to ensure this variant does not reach the country,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Indian health secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with states and union territories and advised them to ramp up testing for early identification and management of the coronavirus cases, The Indian Express reported.

He underlined that the new variant doesn’t escape RT-PCR and RAT tests and asked the states and union territories to ensure adequate infrastructure and home isolation under supervision.