The finance minister said there needs to be a sense of caution about the new variant, and protocols need to be followed. Sitharaman was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday
Asked if the Omicron variant was an immediate threat to the economy, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she could not see that the new variant was a clear threat as such. Image credit: @Ministry of Finance/Twitter
Indians are resilient and have shown they can adapt to any situation, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman when talking about the emergence of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus .
India now has three cases of the Omicron variant, two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat. The latest case is that of a 72-year-old man’s, who was found infected with the new variant in Jamnagar city of Gujarat following his return from Zimbabwe.
Asked if Omicron was an immediate threat to the economy, Sitharaman said she could not see that the new variant was a clear threat as such.
“India is very clear about vaccination against COVID-19 , and have achieved 1.25 billion vaccinations and still going ahead at a good pace,” the finance minister said.
She added that while the new variant was not being seen as a threat, it was clearly a challenge. “The government, to a large extent, is consciously making sure people are given immunity through vaccinations,” she said.
Nevertheless, Sitharaman said, India will still have to follow protocols and be careful.