Top officials including Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Federation health secretary Rajesh BhushanPK Mishra and Dr VK Paul, Member, NITI Aayog participated in the meeting called by the Prime Minister.
The new variant is said to be more infected than Delta.
Here’s a look at the most important developments:
No case of Omicron strain in India
The Health Ministry has said that no case of the new variant has been reported in India so far.
However, in view of several cases of the new COVID-19 variant (b.1.1.1529) reported in Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong, the Center asked the states to conduct “rigorous screening and testing” of all incoming international travelers Is. Transit to and from these countries.
“It is therefore imperative that all international passengers traveling to and transiting through these countries, (they are part of the “at risk” country category of international travelers arriving in India) and including all other “at risk” countries indicated in the amended The guidelines for international arrivals, issued by this Ministry on 11.11.2021, are subject to rigorous screening and testing as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health,” Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to all states on Thursday.
WHO calls it a ‘form of concern’
The WHO has designated it as a “type of anxiety”, naming it ‘Omicron’ after a letter in the Greek alphabet.
The Delta version remains by far the most infectious and has outstripped the other variant once worrisome. WHO has so far classified alpha, beta, gamma and delta as concerns.
Omicron can evade the body’s immune response
The variant – called b.1.1.1.529 – has a “very unusual constellation” of mutations, which are related because they can help evade the body’s immune response and make it more permeable.
The very high number of mutations is a concern for presumed immune evasion and transmissibility. The variant, reportedly, has 32 mutations in the spike protein – the part of the virus that most vaccines use to prime the immune system against Covid.
Mutations in the spike protein can affect the virus’s ability to infect and spread cells, but also make it harder for immune cells to attack the pathogen.
Lawrence Young, virologist University of Warwick, described Omicron as “the most heavily mutated version of the virus we’ve ever seen”, adding “potentially worrying changes that have never been observed before in a single virus.”
Countries impose travel restrictions to stop the spread
To prevent the spread of the new strain, the United States, Canada, Russia, Britain, Israel and several other countries have banned all travel from the country to prevent it from catching on in the population and spreading rapidly.
The UK banned flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries and announced that anyone who has recently arrived from those countries will be asked to take a COVID-19 test.
Australia has also banned people who have traveled to nine southern African countries, as the new version raises concerns of another wave of the pandemic.
The countries are South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.
The Australian government will also suspend all flights to and from nine southern African countries for two weeks.
Declaration of emergency in New York
As global concerns about the new coronavirus variant grew, Governor Cathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York.
The new measures in New York, where Covid-19 caused thousands of deaths in 2020, will take effect on December 3.
The rate of positive tests in New York has increased recently, even as vaccination rates have improved, with some counties reporting positivity rates of more than 10%.
(with inputs from agencies)
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