The Health Department is gearing up to test international travellers arriving at the airports in the State for COVID-19 in tune with the Union government’s guidelines regarding Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
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Health, Medical and Family Welfare Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said all the international passengers arriving at airports in the State have to undergo Rt-PCR test starting from Tuesday.
Speaking to the reporters on Monday after a review meeting with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Mr. Alla said all the guidelines issued by the Central government had been discussed with the Chief Minister and all necessary precautions would be taken by the State government.
If any passenger tested positive, his or her sample would be sent for genome sequencing to identify the variant of the virus they were infected with.
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In the review meeting, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy asked officials to send special medical teams to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai airports to screen international passenges headed to Andhra Pradesh. He asked officials to conduct only Rt-PCR test and avoid rapid testing.
Mr. Alla said that the Health Department would come up with a detailed action plan, and all the measures being taken currently to curb COVID spread would be revisited and strengthened in view of the emergence of the new variant.
The State planned to complete vaccination of the eligible population by administering two crore doses (both first and second) by January 15 as instructed by the Chief Minister, he said. Mr. Alla said it was time people followed COVID-appropriate behaviour without negligence.