Karnataka CM Bommai on Friday said a preliminary report on the Omicron variant is being examined and all directions related to the containment of the infection have been issued.
New Delhi: Amid concerns over Omicron variant threat, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said fresh guidelines have been issued for cluster management in apartments, schools, and colleges. This comes after Karnataka on Thursday reported country’s first two Omicron variant of COVID-19 cases.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Karnataka CM Bommai said a preliminary report on the Omicron variant is being examined and all directions related to the containment of the infection have been issued. “We have a preliminary report on Omicron. I have given directions on cluster management in schools, colleges and apartments. I have also instructed BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) commissioner to look into gathering in apartments’ common areas,” CM Bommai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
On Friday, Karnataka CM Bommai chaired a high-level meeting with his colleagues and health experts over dealing with the Omicron threat. Following the meeting, new guidelines were issued by the Karnataka government to contain the spread of the new version of coronavirus.
KARNATAKA ISSUES FRESH GUIDELINES OVER OMICRON THREAT
The Karnataka government on Friday issued a fresh set of guidelines in view of the Omicron threat and directed schools and universities to postpone all cultural activities till January 15, 2022. According to the new guidelines, students won’t be allowed to attend offline classes unless parents are completely vaccinated. Compulsory testing of health workers, old persons above 65 years and persons with comorbidities will be undertaken by the state government.
Karnataka revenue minister R Ashoka said international travellers arriving in the state will be tested at the airport. The passengers will not be allowed to leave the airport until their Covid report is out.
The state government had also issued directions to ramp up daily Covid tests. The state health department has been instructed to increase the number of tests per day to 1 lakh from the current 60,000.
On Thursday, India’s first cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Karnataka. Of the two Omicron-infected patients, one is a 46-year-old doctor from Bengaluru and the other is a 66-year-old South African national who came to India with a negative Covid test report, the Union health ministry said.
Both the patients were double vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. The doctor who tested positive for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoC-2 had no travel history, the health ministry said. The other Omicron-infected patient who tested positive for the new variant in Karnataka, a South African national, has now left the country.
