As many as 1,000 passengers from South Africa landed at Mumbai International Airport since November 10 and the process of tracking them and contact tracing had begun, Aaditya Thackeray, the Guardian Minister for Mumbai Suburban District, said on Monday.
Arrangements are being made for institutional separation of passengers who test positive for COVID-19, he added.
Meanwhile, authorities have sent the blood sample of a 32-year-old resident of Dombivli, who arrived from South Africa last week and tested Covid-positive, for genome sequencing to ascertain if he has been infected with the new Omicron variant. Officials said he was stable and has been kept in isolation.
At a meeting of the State cabinet on Monday morning, held amid rising concerns over the Omicron variant, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said it would be easier to trace passengers and their contacts if international and domestic airlines regularly shared passenger information.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said there was no need to panic as no case had been detected. He said schools would reopen for Class 1 to 7 students from December 1 and asked parents not to worry about sending their children.
In a letter to health officers of all districts and civic bodies, the Health Services Director said it was mandatory to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in schools.
