Confirmation of Omicron cases in India not unexpected: WHO
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Dec, 2021 11:59 AM
New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS) The detection of two cases of Omicron, the latest variant of Covid-19, in Karnataka was not unexpected in view of the interconnected world that people live in, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, said on Thursday.
"This emphasised the need for all countries to step up surveillance, to be on alert, and rapidly detect any importance and take measures to curtail further spread of the virus," she said.
The Union Health ministry on Thursday said that two cases of Omicron have been detected in Karnataka.
"Both persons had travelled from South Africa. Their contacts have been identified and are under monitoring," said Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (IMRC).
"All Omicron related cases have been found to have mild symptoms so far. No severe symptoms have been noticed in Omicron infection in all such cases, both in the country and abroad," the Health Ministry said.
"WHO commends the countries which have been able to quickly detect and report cases of the new variant of concern," Singh said in a tweet.
She also made it clear that the response measures for all variants of concern, including Omicron, are the same as those for SARS-CoV-2.
Comprehensive and tailored public health and social measures by the government, and strict adherence to the preventive and precautionary measures by individuals is a must for all, she added.
According to the World Health Organization, the overall global risk related to the new Covid variant has been assessed to be very high.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said the Indian government "should confront extremist Hindus" and "stop the massacre of Muslims" in a sharply-worded tweet on Thursday referring to last week's violence in northeast Delhi in which 53 were killed.
Last year 'WhatsApp killer" yoga guru Ramdev's dream 'swadeshi' messaging app 'Kimbho' was taken down from app stores owing to privacy concerns as it also failed to create any buzz.
The Punjab government will mark the International Women's Day on Sunday in a unique way by reserving a stretch of the main road in every district for from 7 p.m. on Saturday to 1 a.m. the next day.
The death toll in the Delhi’s communal violence has gone up to 42 now with four more fatalities being recorded at the city’s GTB Hospital on Friday, officials said.
