# Bengal

WB Health Dept sounds alert over new variant

The state health department headquarters Swasthya Bhaban at Salt Lake today has sounded alert directing CMOHs to strengthen surveillance on health condition of people entering into their respective local districts and city from foreign countries where the new variant has been found.

Statesman News Service | Kolkata | December 1, 2021 1:27 pm

WB Health Dept sounds alert over new variant

The state health department has directed Chief Medical Officers of Health (CMOH) across the city and districts to keep watch on people showing symptoms of the new Covid variant omicron infections. So far no case affected with the Omicron variant has been reported in the country till today.

In the wake of the new variant, triggering apprehension across the world, the Centre has already alerted states and UT and asked to step up testing, vigilance, containment and vaccine coverage.

The state health department headquarters Swasthya Bhaban at Salt Lake today has sounded alert directing CMOHs to strengthen surveillance on health condition of people entering into their respective local districts and city from foreign countries where the new variant has been found.

The health department has also alerted the airport authorities in the state to report the former if any person from any one of these high risk countries lands in the city airport. The concerned airport authority must have to inform the health department if any person coming from these countries fell ill with Covid symptoms. Railway authorities and State Transport Department have also been sensitized by the Swasthya Bhaban in this regard.

The countries from where the variant of concern has been found as already been identified by the Centre as “atrisk” countries for additional follow up measures of international travellers coming to India. The new variant, believed to be more transmissible and immune-evasive, has prompted countries to impose travel restrictions.

Expressing deep concern with new variant, the health ministry has observed that the overall testing, as well as the proportion of RT-PCR tests, have declined in some states including Bengal where Covid confirmatory tests are very poor hovering around 40,000 samples during the past one month, according to the sources in the ministry.