New Delhi, Nov 30: The Center on Tuesday stated that  Omicron, the new variant of the COVID-19 variant does not escape the RT-PCR and RAT tests. Union Health Ministry has issued new advisories for the states to accelerate testing for early detection of any cases of Omicron.

Amid the detection of several cases of Omicron variant across various countries, the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level virtual meeting with the States and UTs to review their preparedness to tackle the new variant.

Bhushan advised states not to let their guard down and keep a strict vigil on the international passengers coming to the country through various airports, ports, and land border crossings.

“India has so far not reported any case of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed Parliament on Tuesday.

“The Centre has issued an advisory after looking at the developments globally and is keeping a close watch at ports; meanwhile, genome sequencing of suspected cases has been beefed up”, he added.