‘No Omicron case in state yet’
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday clarified that its rules related to RT-PCR test and quarantine for fliers are only limited to those arriving from high-risk countries and not for domestic travellers.
The clarification came hours after the Centre wrote a letter to the state government. Speaking in Jalna, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope, said, “The state has drafted its guidelines as per Centre’s notification. A fullyvaccinated local domestic passenger, who has taken both doses of vaccine, can travel without RT-PCR. However, those coming to India from high-risk countries and then taking connecting flights to travel within Maharashtra will have to undergo quarantine and also RT-PCR tests.”
Tope said that as per the updated protocols, international passengers who arrive in Maharashtra will have to get an RT-PCR test on arrival, and would be immediately hospitalised for treatment if found to be positive. Those travelling from the 11 high-risk nations will have to compulsorily quarantine themselves for a week, either in hotels or in institutional facilities. They will have to undergo an RT-PCR test after seven days and will be allowed to go home if they test negative.
The samples of those who test positive will be sent for genomic sequencing.
Seeking to allay fears over the transmission of the Omicron variant, Tope said that no confirmed case of the strain had been detected in the state so far.
Tope said that till the time they don’t receive the report of the genome sequence of the sample of the Dombivli man, there was no cause for panic. However, he stressed the need for Covid-appropriate behaviour.
“Experts from the Maharashtra task force got in touch with experts from South Africa. They said that the virulence factor, which leads to the patient needing hospitalisation and oxygen support, was not present. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is yet to express its opinion,” explained Tope. Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded 767 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, marginally higher than 678 on the previous day. Wednesday also saw 28 deaths due to the virus, and the number of active cases stood at 7,391, with 74,812 people in home quarantine and 923 in institutional quarantine.