August 10, 2026

Omicron Is Here, Is India Prepared To Stop It From Spreading?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-12-04 06:54:50

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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The Omicron variant of coronavirus is finally in India. Of the two certified cases till Thursday the 2^nd of December, one was a foreign traveler who boarded a flight for Dubai after being tested and confirmed for Covid, pending the results of genome sequencing to detect Omicron. The other, more serious, case is of a Bengaluru doctor who does not have a history of foreign travel and had received both doses of the Covid vaccine. The two cases have thrown up different issues that need closer examination.

In the first case, the laxity and corruption prevalent in India were brutally exposed. If the incoming passenger had tested positive for Covid, why was he not put in institutional quarantine pending the results of genome sequencing? With the scare of Omicron, with its 56 plus mutations, hanging over the head, why were the officials so lax in enforcing rules? Then, how did the person manage to get a Covid negative report from a private lab and board the flight to Dubai? If it is our duty to prevent the virus from entering and spreading in India, it is also our duty to stop an infected person from leaving India till he is Covid-negative in order to prevent the virus from spreading in the rest of the world.

Then, in the case of the Bengaluru doctor, if he had not travelled abroad and there is no proof that he came in contact with a person who had travelled abroad recently, how did he get infected with the Omicron variant? The only plausible reason is that the virus has already entered India and is spreading. Further, since the doctor was double-vaccinated, it also proves that Omicron can cause vaccine breakthrough infections. Although the doctor has confirmed what scientists in South Africa had said that Omicron is not severe and life-threatening when he said that he experienced just low fever and body ache without oxygen shortage or breathing problems, the danger of the virus spreading fast - experts have said that it spreads six times faster due to the large number of mutations - is very real and frightening.

But Indians are behaving as if nothing has happened. In cities and towns, the guard has been lowered to such an extent that a majority of the people have given up wearing masks. Physical distancing was never seriously maintained and now it has turned into a joke. This will not do. India has to strictly follow the Covid protocols of wearing masks in public places, maintaining physical distance as far as possible and washing hands frequently. Those who have not taken the second dose must do so at the earliest. The government must jab more and more people with the first dose. Even if Omicron causes vaccine breakthrough infections, it is in rare cases and only with some of its mutations. Vaccine still remains the best shield against the virus and its many avatars. A redoubled effort in testing and contact tracing is also needed.

As for the possibility of international travelers bringing the virus to India, short of closing the borders completely India must do everything possible to prevent this. As the virus has now spread to a large number of countries, instead of testing travelers from only ‘at-risk’ countries, all international travelers must be tested and quarantined pending genome sequencing results if they test Covid positive. One knows that this is an uncomfortable and costly measure, but it is the best way to ensure that the virus does not enter and spreads in India. For, if we let in one such person unknowingly, it will spell disaster. Even if there is no need to panic, as the Centre said, there is definitely a need to be extra vigilant.