Omicron: Mumbai civic body mandates home quarantine for passengers from 'at-risk' countries | Top Points

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Amid global concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Saturday issued home quarantine rules for international passengers from 'at-risk' countries. A 7-day quarantine in mandatory for such arrivals in Maharashtra.

The BMC issued this order on Friday as Mumbai international airport caters to thousands of travellers on a daily basis. The civic body's order said that with the coordination of the airport authorities, the BMC will everyday receive a list of passengers, who arrive from the countries defined as "high-risk" or "at risk". The list will also include the detailed address and contact numbers of these travellers.

Here are some ways how the civic body will ensure home quarantine is implemented.

1. Everyday CEO, MIAL will send a single line list of international travellers arriving in Mumbai in the preceding 24 hours, to the Disaster Management Unit.
2. It will be ensured that no name is left out from this list and only those passengers who have mentioned the duration of their stay in Mumbai in their address will be included in the list.
3. The Disaster Management Unit will further forward it ward-wise to Ward War Rooms & Medical Officer of Health.
4. War Rooms of all 24 wards of BMC will make telephone calls to those passengers and inform them that they are in home quarantine for 7 days.
5. The war room will regularly send its medical teams along with ambulances to check whether these passengers are following the home quarantine protocol.
6. If any symptoms are observed in the home quarantined passengers, the war room will advise them for necessary treatment and hospitalization.
7. The BMC will get the list at 10 am daily, after which its staff will contact the passengers to inform them to remain home quarantined for the next seven days.
8. Adherence to the home quarantine order is mandatory and the passengers will be shifted to government-run institutions if they are found violating it.

"An RT-PCR test will be conducted after seven days and necessary steps will be taken accordingly," the order added.

The Omicron strain, first detected in South Africa, has been classified as a 'variant of concern' by the World Health Organization (WHO). The first cases of Omicron variant in India have been confirmed in two individuals in Karnataka.