Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.30: The new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’ has yet to be discovered in India, informed the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today in Rajya Sabha during the question hour.
No case of COVID19 variant #Omicron reported in India so far: Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour
Source: Sansad TV pic.twitter.com/89sFr7uij1
— ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2021
The Omicron strain, which was initially discovered in South Africa last week and has since been detected in over a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong.
Faced with the threat of Omicron, a new highly transmissible coronavirus strain that offers a “very high” worldwide risk, the government today urged states and UTs to increase Covid testing rates in order to detect and manage infections as soon as possible.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan today met with senior authorities to emphasise that Omicron is already detectable using existing Covid tests, including (crucially) the cheaper and faster antigen tests, which experts say frequently result in false negatives.
