As Omicron enters Delhi, CM Kejriwal urges people not to panic but 'wear masks'
Delhi on Sunday confirmed its first case of Omicron after a 37-year-old man, who recently returned from Tanzania, was found to be infected with the strain.
In wake of the rising cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus in India, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urged people of the city not to panic and continue adhering to Covid-19 protocols.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo said he is “monitoring the situation” and “chaired a review meeting last week” as well, according to news agency ANI.
“We will make all available resources like beds, medicines, equipment to tackle the virus. I just want to appeal to the citizens to always wear masks while stepping out,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by ANI.
On November 30, Kejriwal said the Delhi government has arranged 30,000 oxygen beds, of which 10,000 are ICU, amid the Omicron discovery and threat. He also said telemetry devices will be installed in all oxygen tanks in Delhi to check the availability of the gas on a real-time basis.
Delhi on Sunday confirmed its first case of Omicron after a 37-year-old man, who recently returned from Tanzania, was found to be infected with the strain.
He is among 17 returnees from “at-risk” countries, who are currently admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital. The infected man is the only person to have returned from Africa, while everyone else came from the US and Europe, officials said.
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Besides the national capital, 16 additional cases of Omicron were confirmed from Maharashtra’s Thane district and Jaipur in Rajasthan. As many as nine cases of the new variant of the coronavirus were detected in Jaipur, while seven were found in Maharashtra. The overall Omicron caseload in India has now shot up to 21.
Meanwhile, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday reiterated the city's AAP-led government's appeal to the Centre to impose a travel ban on affected countries in the southern African region.
“It is being reported that the gestational period in case of Omicron could be more than other variants. This means an infected person may go undetected at the airport,” he told news agency PTI.
Jain added all cases of Omicron till now in India have come from “affected foreign countries” and that the central government “should take it seriously.”