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A total of four Omicron cases have been detected from across India, a top Health Ministry official told BusinessLine . The two new cases were reported from Mumbai and Jamnagar (Gujarat) on Saturday. Just days ago, two confirmed cases were reported from Bengaluru.
In addition to this, sources said, 37 passengers arriving from ‘at risk’ countries tested Covid-19 positive at 11 airports — Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Tiruchi. . Three pasengers from ‘Not At Risk’ countries also tested positive. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to INSACOG-designated labs, the sources added. “All the samples of Covid-tested passengers have been sent for genome sequencing. It will take 3-4 days to get the results,” a top official of the Health Ministry said.
In another late evening development, the sample of a 33- year-old passenger who arrived in Mumbai on November 24 from Capetown (South Africa) travelling via Dubai and Delhi, was found to be Omicron positive.
Patient unvaccinated
The State Health Department said in a press statement, “This passenger is a resident of Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation and has not taken any Covid-19 vaccine. On November 24, the passenger got a mild fever. However, no other symptoms were observed. This mildly symptomatic patient is being treated at the Covid Care Centre in Kalyan-Dombivali”.
Twelve of the passenger’s high-risk contacts and 23 of the low-risk contacts have been traced and all have tested negative for Covid-19. Additionally, 25 co-passengers from the Delhi-Mumbai flight also tested negative. More contacts are being traced.
Also read: First case of Omicron variant in Maharashtra found in Kalyan-Dombivali
Earlier in the day, Gujarat reported its first, and India’s third, case of Omicron after the samples of a 72-year-old Jamnagar resident showed the presence of the new variant. The State Health Department confirmed that the septegenarian had returned from Zimbabwe on November 28 and his RTPCR test came positive on November 30. The samples were sent for whole genome sequencing at the INSACOG consortium lab at Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), Gandhinagar, which confirmed Omicron. The patient is currently in an isolation ward at a Jamnagar hospital.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel convened a high-level meeting to review the preparedness to tackle the new variant and also instructed the administration to ensure strict compliance with the Covid-19 protocols.
(With inputs from Rutam Vora, Ahmedabad; Radheshyam Jadhav, Pune.)
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