Omicron Scare: Health Minister Mandaviya reviews Covid testing facilities at IGI airport Delhi

On Sunday night Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed RTPCR testing facilities for passengers coming from "at-risk" countries at Indira Gandhi International Airport. All 44 countries in Europe have also been included in the ‘at-risk' category. Meanwhile, 21 Omicron variant cases of Covid -19 have been reported across the country.

New Delhi:Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed RTPCR testing facilities for passengers coming from "at-risk" countries at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday night. The visit of union minister was in the wake of a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases of Omicron variant. As many 21 Omicron variant cases have been reported across the country.

Out of these 21 cases, nine have been reported in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra, two in Karnataka, and one each in Delhi and Gujarat.

Sharing the information Mandaviya tweeted "reviewed RTPCR testing facilities for passengers coming from "at-risk" countries at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. 35 RT-PCR testing machines were functional at the airport’s Terminal 3 that would reduce the screening and testing time to 30 minutes."

Countries like South Africa, Botswana, Brazil, Singapore, Mauritius, China, New Zealand, Israel, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom. All 44 countries in Europe have also been included in the ‘at-risk' list. On Sunday itself India reported 17 fresh cases of Omicron Variant. 9 cases are from Jaipur 7 from Pune and 1 is from Delhi. The 37-year-old man who returned to Delhi from Tanzania tested positive despite he is fully vaccinated.

This new Omicron variant has been declared as "Variant of Concern" by WHO and since then, several countries had imposed travel restrictions on Southern African countries.

In another tweet, Health Minister congratulated the nation, as 50 percent population of the country gets fully vaccinated. He tweeted, "Congratulations India. It is a moment of great pride as over 50 percent of the eligible population is now fully vaccinated. We will win the battle against Covid-19 together"

While 84.8 percent of the adult population in India has been administered the first dose as per the latest report by the health ministry.