India advises states to step up COVID testing; Mumbai delays school reopening

A boy reacts as a healthcare worker collects a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test swab sample near a bus terminal in New Delhi, India, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's health ministry said on Tuesday states should ramp up COVID-19 testing as the world battles the new coronavirus variant Omicron, while some cities delayed the reopening of schools as a precautionary measure.

The ministry also said the Omicron variant "doesn't escape RT-PCR and RAT (testing)", appeasing some concerns among domestic health workers that changes in the spike protein of the virus could lead to conventional tests failing to detect the variant.