Omicron scare: 1000 landed in Mumbai from Africa in 15 days, 100 tested so far

At least 1,000 travellers landed in Mumbai in the last fortnight from African countries where the potentially more transmissible 'Omicron' variant of coronavirus has been detected, a civic body official has said.

Swab samples were collected of at least 100 travellers out of the 466 whose list was received so far, BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI on Monday.

He said the airport authority has informed that around 1,000 travellers landed in Mumbai from African countries in the last fortnight, but it has handed over a list of only 466 such passengers so far.

Out of the 466 travellers, 100 are from Mumbai and their swab samples have already been collected. Their reports are expected soon.

The infected travellers, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, will be shifted to the BMC's institutional quarantine facility at the civic-run Seven Hills Hospital in suburban Andheri, the officials said.

India has so far not reported any Omicron case, but a few returnees from African countries in Karnataka and Chandigarh, apart from Maharashtra, are under lens.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday warned that the global risk from the Omicron variant is “very high” based on early evidence, saying the mutated coronavirus could lead to surges with “severe consequences.”

The UN health agency, in a technical paper issued to member states, said "considerable uncertainties” remain about the variant, that was first detected days ago in southern Africa.