Delhi Sunday reported its first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that a man, of Indian origin, had come to Delhi from Tanzania a few days ago and tested positive for Covid-19 with the Omicron variant.
So far, India has detected a total of five Omicron cases — one in Maharashtra, one in Gujarat, and two in Karnataka, apart from the new case in Delhi.
The patient has been admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in the national capital, where a separate ward has been set up for Omicron patients. The patient is fully vaccinated.
“Until now, 17 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have been admitted to LNJP Hospital. Genome sequencing for twelve of these samples has been done. As per the preliminary report, one out of the twelve samples had the Omicron variant. This patient has been isolated separately,” Satyendar Jain informed on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, the WHO has urged countries to prepare by accelerating vaccinations and put mitigation plans in place to maintain essential health services. “Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” the WHO said in a statement.
International airports across India are intensively screening and testing all passengers from ‘at-risk’ countries. In line with central guidelines, all passengers from such countries have to take RT-PCR tests on arrival. The test result has to be negative in order to leave the airport.
(With inputs from agencies)
