Chennai: Though the initial plan was to test only those coming from ‘at risk’ countries in a bid to prevent the spread of Omicron, the new variant of coronavirus, the Tamilnadu government has now decided to test all foreign travellers reaching the State.
‘Not ready to take any chances, it has been decided to test all those coming from abroad. Testing infrastructure is being ramped up at all international airports in Tamilnadu,’ sources said.
In the wake of the new variant, Omicron, the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine has written to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), urging it to ensure that guidelines for international arrivals are scrupulously followed at the four international airports in the State.
T S Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health, said in a letter to the Airport Director, international airports in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore and Madurai, that passengers, who on arrival are found to be symptomatic during screening, should be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility, in coordination with the local health authorities.
The Tamilnadu government will supply Thermo Fisher TaqPath RT-PCR kits with higher specificity and better detection rate to the labs that have superior access to airports in the State. ‘All inbound international travellers found with the symptoms of influenza like Illness (ILI) will be screened for S gene drop out using the Thermo Taqpath by the government RT-PCR labs,’ a circular said.
The Tamilnadu health department is on high alert after a person tested positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia.
The development has rung warning bells in Tamilnadu, as many people from the southern State stay in Saudi Arabia, who frequently travel back to their home State.
Tamilnadu has intensified precautionary measures at all four international airports in the state in the wake of the detection of the new Covid-19 virus variant ‘Omicron’ and has appointed health department officials to personally monitor the situation, State Minister Ma Subramanian said.