Mumbai announces quarantine, genome sequencing for South Africa arrivals

Mumbai, Nov 27: Every person returning from South Africa will be quarantined on arrival in Mumbai and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing.

Pednekar said the decision was taken in view of a huge new wave of COVID-19 in South Africa due to a new variant Omicron, which is highly contagious as compared to the past variants of the coronavirus.

"Every person returning from South Africa will be quarantined on arrival in Mumbai and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing. There is no restriction on outbound flights in any way. But this decision has been taken keeping in view past experience," Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said today.

"There is an increased risk of COVID-19 in other nations, so those coming from abroad will have to undergo genome test. I request everyone to maintain social distancing and wear masks so that this new menace can be stopped," Pednekar said.

Pednekar, who is currently in Delhi, said that this step is taken as a precautionary measure considering the past experience of difficulty in controlling a COVID-19 wave once it starts.

Similar restrictions might come into force for the passengers coming from other countries affected by the new variant of the virus, she said.

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has raced to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fuelled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent.

A World Health Organization panel named the variant omicron and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still a scourge driving higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the United States.