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# Ease of travel?: The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has added a fresh pain point at airports for international travellers, who need to undertake the mandated RT-PCR tests.
Different States charge different prices for rapid RT-PCR and regular RT-PCR tests to check for Covid-19, leading to several travel-weary passengers complaining about the additional cost they are being made to bear. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/its-testing-time-for-international-air-travellers/article37872944.ece
# Boosting the frontline: A consensus seems to be evolving among members of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) to give booster doses to frontline and healthcare workers in the first phase.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article37876363.ece
# MicroLabs for genomic surveillance: With the aim of taking genome sequencing to hard-to-reach locations and reducing the time to get results from these tests, CSIR-India’s Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology has partnered with FIND, a global alliance for diagnostics.
The concept is to decentralise genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 through micro labs located closer to where the RT-PCR testing takes place, an airport for instance, said Dr Sanjay Sarin, Vice-President (Access) at FIND. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/csir-igib-find-to-set-up-micro-labs-for-genomic-sequencing/article37872578.ece
# Two in Mumbai: Two fully vaccinated persons who returned from abroad last month have tested positive for the new Omicron strain of coronavirus in Mumbai, the first cases of the variant found in the metropolis, the civic body said on Monday, taking the number of such infections in Maharashtra to 10. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/covid-19-mumbai-reports-first-2-cases-of-omicron-maharashtra-tally-at-10/article37877576.ece?homepage=true
#Boosting airport facilities: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates the Kempegowda International Airport, has enhanced measures for passengers arriving from at-risk countries. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/covid-bangalore-airport-announces-enhanced-measures-for-passengers-from-at-risk-countries/article37877640.ece
# PPE exports: The Supreme Court held that a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ban on exporting PPE kits during the second wave of the pandemic was a legitimate aim, which was of sufficient importance to override the Constitutional right of freedom to conduct business.
# NY mandates: From multinational banks to corner grocery stores, all private employers in New York City will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19, the mayor said, imposing one of the most aggressive vaccine mandates in the US.
# Community transmission in UK: The UK’s Health Minister told Parliament that the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is now in transmission within the community across regions of England, as he confirmed a total of 336 cases of the mutation first detected in South Africa.
# And the winner is...: As the omicron coronavirus variant spreads in southern Africa and pops up in countries all around the world, scientists are anxiously watching a battle play out that could determine the future of the pandemic.
Can the latest competitor to the world-dominating delta displace it? Some scientists, poring over data from South Africa and the UK, suggest omicron could emerge the victor.
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