Omicron: CS meets Kol airport top brass, discusses SOPs

Kolkata: The state government has come up with a Standard Operating Procedure in consultation with the airports authorities to screen incoming passengers, including those coming from abroad, to check the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid in Bengal.

Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi along with senior officers of the state government on Friday held a meeting with the top brass of the Kolkata Airports authorities at Nabanna.

Emphasis has been given on proper health screening of passengers travelling from the "at-risk" countries.

Directions have also been given to ensure proper monitoring of the passengers coming from Bangladesh and Singapore as both the countries have been identified as "at-risk" countries.

Special Omicron room is being set up at Beliaghata ID Hospital. The directives sent by the Centre in respect to the Omicron variant have also been discussed in the meeting.

Passengers coming from the "at-risk" countries have to undergo RT-PCR test before boarding the flight and they would be tested again after reaching Kolkata.

If they test negative, they have to be in home quarantine for seven days and undergo another RT-PCR test on the eighth day.

The individual can return to normal life if tested negative. If the person tests positive, then he or she has to get admitted to hospital where he or she would be kept in an isolation ward.

If a passenger from a high risk country tests positive at Kolkata airport, then he/she would be directly taken to the hospital where he or she would be kept in an isolation ward. The person would undergo a separate test to identify whether he or she is inflicted with the Omicron variant.