Serve pre-packed snacks in aircraft to curtail new Covid-19 variant spread – Citizen Watch
With the new Covid-19 variant, ‘Omicron’, spreading so fast and threatening the lives of many around the world, the Citizen Watch, one of the pressure groups in the country, is calling on the air transport regulators to reconsider how juices and snacks are served in an airplane.
Most of the travellers that Citizen Watch spoke to have kicked against the outmoded method of serving snacks in planes which has the potential of hiking the spread of the virus.
According to Citizen Watch, an opened liter of juice taken round and shared among passengers maybe a potential conduit for the Covid-19 transmission.
“Our point is that as the air host/hostess pours the juice and at the same time communicate with the passengers there could be a potential source of the spread of the virus”, it said in a statement signed by Elikem Agbenyegah, Convener of the group.
The statement advised that the best option which could be used to curtail the further spread of the virus would be serving a pre-packed snack to passengers on board to reduce the potential risk of contamination and spread of the disease.
“Serving in a pre-packed with straw reduces mouth opening activities also known as ‘vocal aperture’.
“Our major concern is that, with the new variant which is highly transmissible, we are hopeful with this new measure would improve confidence in our air travels as well as increase passenger travels” it said.
The statement called on the regulators of the aviation industry – the Ghana Airports Company, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and IATA to ensure the implementation of a pre-packed snacks for passengers to ensure safe travels.
Aside this, the statement also called on travelers to eat and drink healthy snacks.
The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation from South Africa on 24th November, 2021.
The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterised by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant. In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of B.1.1.529 variant. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9th November, 2021.
This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.
Source: Ghana News
