Omicron variant scare amid aura of normalcy
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 03, 2021 -

IF at all the Omicron variant of Covid-19 reaches the state, it could be safely stated that the slightest lapse in identifying the vectors and enforcing the standard preventive measures would be devastating for large gathering of public in election-related events is the right recipe for rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant.

Amid the latest health scare which has been causing panic across the world and many countries imposing travel restrictions from 'at-risk' countries, it is heartening to learn that the health department has worked out standard operating procedures to specifically deal with the new variant.

As per the health director Dr K Rajo, the new SOPs mandate passengers arriving from countries, where Omicron cases have been reported, to produce 14 days' travel history and possess RTPCR negative result taken within 72 hours.

It also includes mandatory conduct of RT-PCR test right after a passenger lands at the airport and he or she will be at the airport till confirmation of the results, and if found positive, then the passenger will be hospitalised and sample sent for genome sequencing.

Such measures for confirmed Covid-19 positive passengers appear to be effective enough to prevent transmission from travellers.

However, as nature of the virulent disease has been unpredictable since the first wave and its mutation period varying from one individual to another, it is the home quarantine guidelines for those who test negative at the arrival point that could be problematic for asymptomatic patients might flout the safety protocols and inadvertently spread the contagion.

With unreliability of the home isolation policy adopted by the government to prevent overwhelming of general hospitals already exposed during the second wave of the pandemic when multiple family members of patients in isolation were infected, there is no doubt that successful tackling of Omicron variant of the virus will rest on how the general population respond to the threat situation.

The public apprehension that the state is highly vulnerable to spread of the new variant has been corroborated as eight flight passengers arrived to the state from countries which have been classified as risky.

Though it was fortunate that none of the travellers have been found infected there should be no compromise on surveillance and preventive measures.

As seriousness of threat from the new variant could be comprehended from the aviation ministry keeping in abeyance the scheduled resumption of international flights, it is imperative that the government authorities not only frame the rules but also lead the battle to prevent another phase of possible disruption caused to life and livelihood rather than thrusting it upon the public to avert disaster situation.

As of now, intense surveillance at the entry points and subjecting the travellers to test in accordance to the mandated method seem to be the surest means to check import of the virus, failing which it could be safely predicted that its spread would be uncontrollable, especially in view of non-adherence to safety protocols at election events and the masses currently relishing decline in the number of positive cases, after months of derailment caused to normal chores.