In the last 24-hours, the surveillance teams of the state health department at Shamshabad airport have tested 41 international passengers, who arrived from the 12 ‘at-risk’ countries where Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported.
All the international travellers have tested negative for Covid-19 and are now in mandatory home quarantine, senior health officials said. Apart from passengers arriving from at-risk countries, the surveillance teams are also randomly collecting at least 5 per cent of the samples from international passengers arriving from any foreign country at the Shamshabad international airport.Since November 11, a total of 1570 international passengers have been screened at the airport. Senior health officials said only 13 individuals (out of the 1570) were partially vaccinated and had to undergo RT-PCR testing at the airport itself. All of them had tested negative and were directed to be under home quarantine for 14-days.
“Whether it is the recent Omicron variant or the existing Delta variant, the fact remains that the spread of Covid-19 depends on how people behave. In the background of Omicron being reported, we urge people to stick to extensive use of masks, physical distancing and sanitization,” Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao on Tuesday said.
Shamshabad international airport.
