‘What to do about dodgy international travellers?’

Airport officials check international passengers arriving at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. File pic

Amid the detection of Omicron - the new variant of Coronavirus - in several countries, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Cabinet wants to know how the state's screening machinery will know the health status of travellers who do not land in Mumbai or any other airport in Maharashtra, but arrive in the state from other cities by domestic air service, trains or road.

Thackeray has suggested that sharing of passenger information by airlines operating international and national flights will help a great deal in tracing travellers and their contacts. The state Cabinet discussed the Omicron scare in detail on Monday. Thackeray, who is recuperating in hospital after undergoing spine surgery, participated online and shared information gathered from the Covid Task Force and divisional commissioners who he deliberated with online over the weekend.

"Passenger information given to states on a regular basis will help in monitoring and preventing the infection," Thackeray told the Cabinet, which wanted him to take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As of now, the Centre has made the RT-PCR test compulsory for travellers from or transiting through 12 countries. One test should have been done 72 hours prior to boarding from the originating country while another RT-PCR test is mandatory on arrival in India. In addition, seven-day quarantine has also been made compulsory.

In Mumbai, if found positive, travellers will be sent to institutional quarantine instead of home quarantine, and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing. The immigration department has been asked to cross-check the passports to check travel history of all arriving passengers. This is important because Mumbai does not have direct flights from South Africa, and in the past, there have been instances of international travellers dodging Maharashtra authorities.

According to the Cabinet discussion, the latest and biggest outbreaks took place in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria where 30,000 cases are being reported every day. Omicron, which was first found in South Africa on November 24, has more than 50 mutations and when tested, does not detect S gene (one of the three target genes) in the RT-PCR method.

Measures in place

£The Centre has made the RT-PCR test compulsory for travellers from or transiting through 12 countries
£For these travellers one test is to be done 72 hours prior to boarding from the originating country while another RT-PCR test is mandatory on arrival in India
£The passengers will also have to undergo a seven-day quarantine
£In Mumbai, if found positive, travellers will be sent to institutional quarantine, and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing.