Instead of applauding South Africa for transparency in detecting the new variant of Covid-19, it has been treated like a pariah. As a knee jerk reaction, 40 countries have imposed travel bans based on WHO designating it as a variant of concern. Several cases of Omicron have been identified in Europe and the UK with evidence suggesting that the new variant has a higher re-infection risk though not as ominous as perceived by the world. So far as India is concerned, strict guidelines have been put in place for travellers transiting through the high risk countries. An added advantage is that Indians have developed antibodies and attained herd immunity from the vicious Delta variant with 67% of its population being vaccinated. This will drastically reduce the impact of the Omicron virus.. Back home there has been a conflict of interest between the Centre and States with regard to the observance of SOPs set by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Maharashtra Govt has demanded a repeat RT-PCR test on arrival by passengers from abroad. Applying the same yardstick for domestic passengers defeats the guidelines set by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
