Central Govt to review SOP on testing, surveillance of incoming international passengers
Home Ministry Secretary held an urgent meeting on Sunday following a high-level review by the Prime Minister on the new COVID Variant of Concern ‘Omicron’.
New Delhi: In the wake of the new coronavirus variant 'Omicron', the Union Government has decided to review the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on testing and surveillance of incoming international passengers, especially for those countries identified ‘at risk’ category.
Home Ministry Secretary held an urgent meeting on Sunday following a high-level review by the Prime Minister on the new COVID Variant of Concern ‘Omicron’.
The meeting was held with various experts, Dr. V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Dr Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister, & senior officers from Health, Civil Aviation and other Ministries.
In the meeting, the overall global situation in wake of the 'Omicron' virus was comprehensively reviewed. Various preventive measures in place and to be further strengthened were discussed.
Experts decided to further strengthen and intensify genomic surveillance for variants. Airport Health Officials (APHOs) and Port Health Officials (PHOs) to be sensitized for strict supervision of testing protocol at airports/ ports.
Also, the decision on the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passengers service, to be reviewed, as per evolving global scenario. The government to keep a closer watch on the emerging pandemic situation within the country.
