Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 7 (ANI): In the wake of rising cases of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the Union Territory government has taken necessary steps to contain the spread of the virus that include the constitution of free and paid quarantine services for the travellers.

Speaking to ANI, Nodal officer of Quarantine centre Srinagar, Dr Mudasir Nabi said, "The Disaster Management Authority of Srinagar or Chief Medical officer (CMO) have established free and paid quarantine centres. We have a marriage hall and Haj House as free quarantine centres and four hotels as the paid quarantine centres. An option is given to the travellers at Airport to choose between the free and paid centres.""The CMO, Srinagar has constituted teams that include the Nodal officer, doctors who monitor the test reports and verify before leaving the travellers," he added.

Incharge of the isolation centre, Muzaffar Ahmad told ANI that the government has taken good steps to contain the spread of the virus adding that the isolation centre has all the necessary facilities.

"The government has taken a very nice step to contain the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron. The isolation centre built here has all the facilities. The beds are in place. The facilities for the travellers are good here," he said.

Ahmad further appealed to the travellers not to keep their problems from the authorities and said that the public has a big role to play in containing the virus.

"I want to appeal to the travellers who visit here not to hide any problems from the authorities. Hiding may lead to problems in the region. The government has taken a good step, we are ready too. The public has a big role to play in this, we need cooperation from them," he said.

Manager of New Park Hotel, Bashir Ahmad said, "We offer complimentary breakfast to the customers. We have a tie-up with the district administration. They have issued us a few guidelines and we are adhering to all of them."The new variant of COVID-19 was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9 this year.

On November 26, the WHO named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'. The WHO has classified Omicron as a 'variant of concern'. (ANI)