Omicron fears: BMC clamps stringent home isolation norms

With Omicron cases getting detected in the two adjoining states of Karnataka and Gujarat this week, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has introduced a set of stringent home quarantine norms, which include five calls a day and visits by medical teams with ambulance.

BMC Commissioner I.S. Chahal said that after the successful 'Dharavi Model' in the first Covid-19 wave -- which earned global accolades -- and the 'Mumbai Model' which was also very successful, this is the third initiative to secure the country's commercial capital from Omicron.

The process will start daily morning with the Mumbai International Airport Ltd sending a list of all Mumbai passengers landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, or who have visited from the 'high risk' and 'at risk' nations in the past 15 days, to the Disaster Management Unit (DMU).

Thereafter, the DMU will relay it to the 24 administrative wards based on the passengers' addresses and then to the Ward War Rooms (WWR) which will track, test and start contact tracing.


Chahal added that the WWR will call each person under home quarantine at least five times a day to monitor their health and also ascertain if they are indeed in isolation at home and following the rules, and if needed counsel them and address their concerns.

Besides, medical teams will be sent regularly with ambulance to see whether the passengers are complying with the rules, and check their health. After seven days in home isolation, they will ensure that the concerned passengers take undergo RT-PCR tests.

The housing societies/complexes where they live shall be informed in writing by the BMC, asking them to ensure that the passengers remain isolated at home, and no visitors are allowed. Violators shall face stringent punishment, including being shunted to compulsory institutional quarantine.


If any passengers develop any symptoms, they will be immediately put on treatment protocols or hospitalised, said Chahal.

The WWRs would be adequately staffed and would have multiple functional communication lines and 10 ambulances at their disposal. They would inform the DMU of any violation of the rules by any passenger. -IANS