FICCI urges government for a uniform policy, especially at all entry points, in the wake of Omicron variant

Dec 02, 2021

NEW DELHI, 02 December 2021: In the wake of the emergence of the Omicron variant, Mr Uday Shankar, President, FICCI today said, "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 & livelihoods without any meaningful gain. 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."

"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. Given the need to balance lives & livelihoods, economic activity should be calibrated to positivity rates as suggested in the 'FICCI Unlock Matrix' and restrictions, if warranted, must be highly localised," added Mr Shankar.

"India has successfully fought against COVID and will do so again by taking actions on the basis of accurate data and scientific rationale," Mr Shankar said.