BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Monday issued an alert for districts bordering Andhra Pradesh following detection of COVID super mutant Omicron in the neighbouring state.
However, Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Dr Rama Raman Mohanty said the State government is aware of the development and has put all possible measures in place to deal with the situation. "No international traveller in Odisha has tested positive for the new strain yet," he said and advised people not to panic and follow Covid appropriate behaviour to prevent the spread of infection.
Screening and testing measures have been put in place at airports in the State. Also, genome sequencing of those returning from abroad is being carried out, he said. The DMET said that samples of those testing positive for COVID-19 are also being sent for genome sequencing. With around 10 per cent of the State’s elderly population yet to be vaccinated, the new Covid variant in Andhra Pradesh has come as an alarm.
The DMET requested eligible persons, who are yet to be vaccinated, to get the jab at the nearest inoculation centres without wasting time. "We have increased the number of vaccination centres in the State to ensure timely vaccination of the eligible population," he said.
Meanwhile, Odisha reported 178 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Two deaths were also reported in this period.