Tanzania-returnee detected with Omicron in Delhi; India's 5th case
A man who arrived in Delhi from Tanzania has tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The patient is an Indian and returned from Tanzania a few days ago, an official told PTI. The 37-year-old man was reportedly admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital (LNJP) in Delhi and has shown mild symptoms. Here are more details.
Why does it matter?
This is the fifth Omicron case detected in India and the first case in Delhi. The central and state governments are stepping up precautionary measures as the new variant is feared to be more transmissible. The first two cases were detected in Karnataka. The other two cases were reported from Gujarat and Maharashtra. Notably, Omicron was first discovered in South Africa on November 25.
Patient's contacts being traced: Official
The patient was reportedly among the 17 international passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 in Delhi. Samples of 12 out of 17 positive passengers were sent for genome sequencing, and the 37-year-old's result came positive for the variant, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. His travel history is being collected and all his contacts are being traced, officials told PTI.
Fourth Omicron case detected Maharashtra
Earlier, an unvaccinated male passenger who had returned from South Africa's Cape Town was detected with Omicron in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The 33-year-old man is a resident of Maharashtra's Dombivli. He arrived in Mumbai on November 24 from Cape Town via Dubai and Delhi. The patient has mild symptoms and is being treated at the COVID-19 Care Centre in Kalyan-Dombivli.
Mumbai patient's contacts traced; all negative
Since the 33-year-old was detected with the Omicron variant, 12 high-risk contacts and 23 low-risk contacts have been traced. Reportedly, all of them have tested negative for COVID-19. Twenty-five co-passengers in the Delhi-Mumbai flight have also been tested and found negative for COVID-19, The Indian Express reported. More contacts of the patient are being traced.
Patient a marine engineer; remained unvaccinated
Notably, the Maharashtra patient is a marine engineer by profession and was unvaccinated. "Due to the odd nature of his job, he couldn't get vaccinated while on the ship," an official told PTI. The patient had also left India in April when vaccinations were available for healthcare and frontline workers, the official said.
3,839 passengers from 'at-risk' nations tested
In Mumbai airport, 3,839 passengers arriving from "at-risk" countries were tested with RT-PCR till Saturday morning. As many as 344 out of 17,107 passengers arriving from other countries were also randomly tested. The samples of eight passengers who tested COVID-19-positive since December 1 have been sent for genome sequencing. Field surveillance has been ongoing for international passengers arriving in the state since November 1.
Zimbabwe returnee tested positive in Gujarat yesterday
On Saturday, a 72-year-old Non-Resident Indian (NRI) returning from Zimbabwe was detected with Omicron in Gujarat's Jamnagar. He reportedly landed in Jamnagar last week, and he was tested positive for COVID-19 during regular screening at the airport. The presence of Omicron was confirmed after genome sequencing. The fully-vaccinated Zimbabwe citizen reportedly had mild symptoms such as cough, cold, and sore throat.
'Missing' returnees detected
Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has tracked down all ten "missing" international travelers who had returned from South Africa. The travelers were said to have gone "missing" after two cases of Omicron variant were detected on Thursday.
Omicron detected in 38 countries: WHO
The World Health Organization said that the new variant of coronavirus Omicron (B.1.1.529) had been detected in 38 countries, but there are no reports of deaths associated with it. Earlier, the world body termed Omicron a variant of concern (VOC). Omicron is said to be the most heavily mutated strain of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. However, studies on its transmissibility and severity are still ongoing.
