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Mumbai is ramping up its defences against the South African Covid-19 Omicron strain. On Saturday, Mumbai’s mayor, Kishori Pednekar, made quarantining compulsory for those arriving at the financial capital’s airport from South Africa.
She also said that samples of those found Covid positive will be sent for mandatory genome sequencing.
“There are concerns in Mumbai about the new variant of coronavirus. Genome sequencing of (positive) passengers coming from South Africa will be done.
“There is no restriction on outbound flights in any way. But this decision has been taken keeping in view past experience,” Mumbai mayor said today. Genome is like an instruction manual that contains information about the make-up of an organism, and genome sequencing is a technique that reads and interprets genetic information.
Genome test
Pednekar also said as there is an increased risk of Covid-19 in other nations, those coming from abroad will have to undergo genome test.
She appealed to everyone to maintain social distancing and wear masks so that this new menace can be stopped.
The World Health Organization has designated a new coronavirus strain detected in South Africa as a “variant of concern”, prompting countries around the world to impose travel restrictions amid fears over its potential spread.
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