Six air passengers from Omicron-risk countries test positive for Covid on arrival in India

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Six passengers have tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival at Indian airports on the first day that the new stringent guidelines came into effect on Wednesday for flyers coming in from the at-risk countries where the deadlier Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected.</p>
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According to information provided by the Ministry of Health, a total of 11 international flights landed at various airports of the country except Lucknow, from midnight to 4 pm on Wednesday from "at risk" countries.  As many as 3,476 passengers arrived on these flights.</p>
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“All 3476 passengers were administered RT PCR Tests, wherein only 6 passengers were found COVID19 positive,” the official statement said.</p>
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The samples of the COVID19 positive passengers have been sent to INSACOG labs set up by the government to monitor genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2.</p>
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These labs determine the strain of the virus that has caused the infection in a particular case.</p>
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States will then undertake contact tracing of these positive individuals and follow up the Covid protocol for 14 days.</p>
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Travellers arriving from "at-risk" countries are being advised to prepare to wait at the airports till their results are out. The list of countries deemed "at-risk" for now includes the United Kingdom, all 44 countries in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.</p>
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If found negative, the passengers will undergo a seven-day home quarantine and be re-tested on the 8th day. State officials will physically visit their homes to ensure effective home isolation.</p>