Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with top officials on Saturday to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the country as well as the nationwide vaccination drive. The key meet comes just one day after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new strain of the novel coronavirus Omicron (also called B.1.1.529) as a "variant of concern."
WHO dubbed Omicron as a 'variant of concern' as it contains a worrisome number of mutations that could make it more resistant to vaccines, increase transmissibility, and result in
more severe symptoms. The variant, which was first discovered in South Africa this week and has since been reported from Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium, is thought to contain 50 mutations, with over 30 in the spike
protein and ten in the receptor binding domain.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P K Mishra, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, and NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul are among the attendees
at the meeting.
On Friday night, the government announced that scheduled international passenger flights to and from India could resume, but only for countries not deemed 'at risk' by the Ministry
of Health.
As of Thursday night, South Africa, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong were on the 'at risk' list, which means that only 75% of scheduled passenger flights will be allowed until further
notice.
"This variant has serious public health implications in light of recently relaxed visa restrictions and opening of international travel," India's Health Ministry said on Thursday,
referring to passengers from South Africa, Botswana, and Hong Kong.
Also Read: Omicron: New Covid variant to be “of concern,” spreads 6 to 7 times faster than delta variant
India has issued an alert for Omicron and directed for rigorous screening of passengers arriving in India. Travellers would need to take extra precautions upon arrival in India, including
post-arrival infection testing.
Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has urged “PM to stop flights from those countries which are affected by new variant.”
“I urge Hon’ble PM to stop flights from those countries which are affected by new variant. With great difficulty, our country has recovered from Corona. We shud do everything
possible to prevent this new variant from entering India,” tweeted the AAP chief.
According to WHO, "Omicron has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests that this variant has a higher risk of reinfection than other
VOCs."
Healthcare experts have dubbed omicron a "super strain" because it has more than 30 mutations, more than any other variant and twice as many as delta.
Most COVID-19 vaccines are designed to target the spike protein, which the virus uses to gain access to our cells. Researchers are still determining whether this makes the strain more transmissible
or lethal than previous variants, as well as whether existing vaccines can protect against it.
According to preliminary studies, the new variant reduces the effectiveness of vaccines by 40%. This is because the spike protein has 32 mutations.
WHO’s classification places Omicron, along with the globally dominant Delta and its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, in the most worrisome category of Covid-19 variants.
With the alarming spread of Omicron, nations rush to ban flights, while stock markets and oil prices plummeted due to fears about the variant, potentially wreaking havoc on the global economy.