Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
India has delayed a plan to resume international flights amid warnings by experts that it is a “matter of time” before the new Covid-19 variant Omicron is detected in the country, given the high transmissibility of the virus.
The country’s aviation regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on Wednesday halted the resumption of international commercial flights until December 15 over concerns about the emergence of the mutated virus in more than a dozen countries.
The international commercial flight operations had been banned for more than 20 months and passenger flights were operating under a bubble arrangement between India and other countries since the pandemic outbreak.
“In view of the emerging global scenario … the situation is being watched closely … an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services shall be notified in due course,” the DGCA said.
The highly infectious virus B. 1.1.529, or Omicron, was first identified by scientists in South Africa on November 24 and within a week it has spread to dozens of countries including Australia, Italy, the Netherlands and Botswana.
While no cases of Omicron have been confirmed in India yet, samples of more than 20 people who tested positive after they returned from South Africa, Zambia and the Netherlands have been sent for genomic sequencing. The results will be known in a week.
Experts in India say while the virulence of the virus is not known yet, it can be believed that it is highly infectious because it is spreading so fast.
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Indian students apply the finishing touches to paintings created to raise awareness of the variant in Mumbai. Reuters -
International travellers wearing personal protective equipment arrive at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport as Australia records its first cases of the Omicron variant. AFP -
A greeting at the international terminal of Sydney Airport, as countries respond to the new variant. Reuters -
A sign asking people to wear face coverings in a building in Manhattan as the newly discovered Omicron variant appears in countries around the world. AFP -
Tourists wave as the ‘Europa’ passenger liner arrives in South African waters off Cape Town as the new coronavirus variant Omicron spreads in other countries. Reuters -
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Dutch health authorities said they have found another case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant among passengers arriving from South Africa, bringing the country’s total to 14. AFP -
Pupils wear face masks in Beijing. Despite the global worry, scientists say it remains unclear whether the Omicron variant is more dangerous than other strains of the virus. AP -
People wearing face masks in Manhattan. New York's governor has declared a state of emergency due to the risk of a surge of Covid-19 cases as winter sets in. AFP -
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid meets a member of staff at a vaccine centre in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London. Getty Images -
A sign points the way to a Covid-19 test centre at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. AFP -
Narita International Airport in Japan is quiet after travel was restricted to prevent the spread of Omicron. Reuters -
A PCR test at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. AFP -
Soekarno Hatta International airport. Indonesia has banned the arrival of travellers who have recently been in eight southern African countries. Reuters -
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok after Thailand banned entry from eight southern African countries due to the Omicron variant. Reuters -
Travellers wear personal protective equipment outside the international terminal at Sydney Airport, Australia. Reuters -
Passengers wearing protective gear at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, where health authorities have imposed an entry ban on foreign arrivals from eight African countries, including South Africa. EPA -
Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Israeli government approved a 14-day ban on foreign arrivals over concerns about Omicron. EPA -
Travellers queuing in the hope of boarding an overbooked Lufthansa flight at Cape Town International Airport. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Covid-stricken Czech President Milos Zeman sits in a plastic cage as he appoints Petr Fiala as Prime Minister, near Prague. AFP -
Tourists checking in at Cape Town International Airport in South Africa. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Several airlines have stopped flying out of South Africa amid the spread of the new variant, causing disruption at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Reuters -
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Two cases of the recently discovered Omicron variant were detected in New South Wales. EPA -
Passengers, many not wearing face coverings, on the London Underground. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said mandatory mask-wearing would return to shops and public transport in England but there are concerns over how the rule will be enforced. AFP -
A stroll, with face masks, in Biarritz, south-western France. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said France had no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant and was not changing its strategy of increasing vaccinations and booster shots. AP -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty during a press conference on the variant in London. Reuters
“The virus will slip through … it is a matter of time before we detect the variant because it is not that we can completely seal ourselves from it,” K Srinath Reddy, president of the non-profit health charity Public Health Foundation of India, told The National.
Since the Omicron alarm was raised by the WHO, India is treading carefully because it has just emerged from the devastating wave in April-May blamed on the Delta variant that pushed its healthcare infrastructure to the brink of collapse and killed nearly 250,000 people and infected more than 20 million.
Experts say Omicron has more than 30 spike mutations, more than double the Delta variant, which makes it more infectious.
“It does appear to be much more infectious because of the multiple spiked protein mutations that have occurred and there is preliminarily evidence that it is indeed spreading fast. Preliminary indications show it is more infectious than Delta,” Mr Reddy said.
The government has scaled up surveillance of hot spots and imposed stringent rules for international travellers, with Covid testing on arrival that can take up to 4-6 hours and mandatory quarantine and genome sequencing if tested positive.
The health ministry last week tightened its policy on international arrivals, making it mandatory for travellers from “at-risk” countries to undergo testing at the airport followed by a seven-day quarantine.
Nearly a dozen countries and the entire European region has been marked as “at-risk” by Indian authorities and cities such as Mumbai and Patna are planning mandatory testing for domestic passengers.
It has also directed the states to increase testing for early detection of the cases and vaccinations to ensure immunity against the virus.
The country of 1.3 billion people has fully vaccinated 40 per cent of its adult population, while more than 80 per cent have received the first dose of a vaccine against Covid-19 since it launched an ambitious inoculation programme in January.
Infection rates dropped to an average of 10,000 a day in recent weeks in what experts believe is a hybrid protection from natural herd immunity and the effect of widespread immunisation among its population.
Rijo John, a health economist in Kerala, told The National that the emergence of the new variant was worrying for India and that the government needs to put its response on a “war footing” because a large section of its vulnerable population was not fully vaccinated.
“We should be more prepared with our vaccinations. [Of] the most vulnerable group — people above 45 years of age — only 58 per cent have been fully vaccinated with two doses. This means 42 per cent in this age group, which amounts to 145 million people, have not been vaccinated.,” Mr John said.
The health experts are also emphasising the need to prepare the healthcare infrastructure and to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, which is critical for breaking the chain of transmission.
“Indians have lowered their guard … we have to continue following the protocol, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing,” Mr Reddy said.
“What we need is to prepare all our defences in the worst-case scenario. If it turns out to be mild but large numbers are infected, we have to look at testing and home care, but if it is as virulent as Delta, we have to step up our hospital preparedness,” Mr Reddy said.
