Two Africans who came to Karnataka turned out to be positive

Bengaluru: Two people who reached Karnataka from South Africa have been found corona positive. This has created a stir in the state health department. According to officials, the reports of both have come. The Delta variant of Corona has been confirmed in both. It has been confirmed that the variant is not Omicron. At present, both have been isolated and quarantined.

Karnataka Health Secretary TK Anil Kumar said that since the passengers had come from abroad, the genome sequencing was fast-tracked. “The first passenger arrived in Bengaluru on November 11 and the second on November 16. Both were quarantined separately. It has been confirmed that both the cases are of the Delta variant.

According to official records, 584 people from 10 high-risk countries have reached Bengaluru and out of these, 94 people have come from South Africa. Officials said that senior officials of the city administration and health department have inspected the precautionary measures at the airport to screen international passengers.
He said, “We have also changed the protocol of travelers coming from South Africa and other countries. Earlier, they were only required to have an RT-PCR test which is 72 hours old. But we have changed the norms to ensure that All passengers will have to undergo corona test at the airport. Rapid test results come within an hour while normal RT-PCR test takes about 4 hours. Passengers to stay at the airport till the reports come. Will happen”.

Health officials say that in view of the new variant of Kovid-19, the Karnataka government has made testing and testing mandatory on international arrivals from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong.

In a circular issued in Bengaluru on Friday, the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare has asked all the concerned officials for careful implementation and rigorous monitoring of the three-pronged surveillance strategy. “It is imperative that all international travelers arriving and departing from Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong are required to take part in the screening as per the guidelines,” the circular said.

Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Saturday that there is still no sign of new variants in the state. ”We had a meeting on Friday to discuss preventive measures. People coming from affected countries will undergo RT-PCR test after landing in Bengaluru. If found positive, they will stay in and around the airport for treatment. Home quarantine will be mandatory if they get infected. Health department officials have been deployed at the airport to monitor the situation.

WHO regional director Poonam Khetrapal has said, “We must not forget that the pandemic is not over. As societies open up, we should not become complacent. Festivals and celebrations must include all precautionary measures. Crowds and large gatherings should avoid.” Several countries, including the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Japan and Thailand, the European Union and the United Kingdom, have banned international flights over southern African countries to avoid the Omicron virus.