Omicron: FICCI Calls For Adoption of Uniform Policy Pan India

Industry body FICCI on Thursday urged the government to ensure that a uniform policy is being followed across the country in the wake of the emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID virus, especially at all entry points, as any deviation at a state, city or municipal level will have a cascading effect.

The chamber said that it is imperative to remain vigilant, step up the number of RT-PCR tests to monitor any uptick in positivity rates, and accelerate genome sequencing to track variants. "We urge the centre to ensure a uniform policy is followed across the country, especially at all entry points, as any deviation at a state, city or municipal level will have a cascading effect," the chamber said in a statement.

It said that the emergence of the Omicron variant is a stark reminder that the threat from COVID has not gone away; getting fully vaccinated and following COVID appropriate behaviour are now more important than ever.

"However, we caution against any knee jerk reactions which will only cause panic and disrupt lives and livelihoods without any meaningful gain," it added. It further said that "given the need to balance lives and livelihoods, economic activity should be calibrated to positivity rates as suggested in the 'FICCI Unlock Matrix' and restrictions, if warranted, must be highly localised."

(PTI)