Karnataka seeks ban on flights from South Africa, Hong Kong

Karnataka has sought a ban on flights from South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana to keep the Omicron variant of Covid-19 from entering the state. The state has been free from this variant as two Covid-19 infected persons, among those who travelled from South Africa this month, were found to be infected with the Delta variant.

"We have not spotted this variant in our state," chief minister Basavaraj Bommai told the media on Sunday.

He said the government has written to the Centre to prevent arrivals from the three places in view of the Omicron infection there and is taking steps to step up surveillance at the airports.Only those international travellers who test negative on arrival at airports will be allowed to proceed. It is no more enough if a traveller carries a Covid-19 negative report which is not older than 48 hours. Those who test positive will be quarantined, he said.


The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Omicron as a variant of concern, Bommai said, adding that the authorities still don't know its virulence but only know it spreads fast.

The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on November 24.