The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai on Saturday issued new guidelines for monitoring international travellers amid concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

India has so far recorded three cases of the variant, which was first identified in South Africa. Two cases have been reported from Karnataka and one from Gujarat.

States have been directed to step up surveillance and testing of passengers from “at-risk” countries. These countries are South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

Here is a five-point to the new rules in Mumbai

  1. The Mumbai International Airport Limited will, on a daily basis, share a list of international travellers arriving in Mumbai from “at risk” countries with the director of the disaster management unit. The list will also include those who have travelled to these countries in the last 15 days.
  2. The passengers’ lists will be sorted out according to addresses. These segregated lists will be forwarded to the “ward war rooms” in the city.
  3. Officials of the “ward war rooms” will call those under home quarantine at least five times a day to check on their health. The “ward war rooms” will also regularly send medical teams with ambulances to check whether the travellers are following protocols.
  4. On the seventh day of home quarantine, the “ward war rooms” will ensure that the travellers undergo RT-PCR tests.
  5. Passengers found flouting the protocols will be booked under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Epidemic Act, 1897.