Omicron scare: Screening mandatory for foreign travellers, 1L daily tests

One lakh COVID-19 tests daily, mandatory test-upon-arrival for all international passengers, and keeping oxygen and ICU beds on standby are some of the many measures that the Karnataka government has put in place as part of its fresh COVID guidelines for the state.

The new rules announced by state revenue minister R Ashok at a press briefing on Friday come a day after the state reported two cases of the variant Omicron.

Also read: Strict compliance, booster shots – Centre’s strategy to deal with Omicron

While assuring that no proof about the variant’s severity has been found so far, Ashok said that the government is stocking up on vaccines, oxygen and medicines to handle any emergency situations. Ashok made the announcement after Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai chaired a meeting with officials from the health department and the Bengaluru corporation.

“We are going to write to the central government and ask for an expert report on this,” he was quoted as saying.

The state government would also set up a COVID control room and man it with required staff.

Under the new guidelines, the government has banned events in schools and colleges till January 15, 2021 while capping the number of guests at weddings to 500.

Also read: Brace for Omicron spread, WHO tells Asia-Pacific countries

The government has also made complete vaccination compulsory for those visiting malls, cinemas as well as for parents who are sending children to schools.

Ashok said police is currently looking for 10 travellers from South Africa who have gone missing upon arrival. Two of the persons have not been found at the address they had furnished at the airport while their cell phones have switched off. The minister said police will also probe to find out who helped a 66-year-old South African man, who had tested positive for Omicron, to return to Dubai with a negative report. The man who had arrived in Bengaluru on November 20 reported left a week later after securing a negative test report from a private lab.