Omicron variant: 12 nations on Gujarat’s ‘at risk’ list; positive samples to be sent for genome sequencing

The list includes the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. While most of these countries were part of the ‘at risk’ list of the Central health ministry even on October 20, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel were added by the state government-issued circulars dated November 26 and 27.

Both the circulars, issued by Additional Director of Health Department Nilam Patel, mandates RT-PCR testing of passengers from the 12 countries/regions upon their arrival in Gujarat.

On Saturday, the UK Health Security Agency reported two cases of the Omicron variant, while one was reported in Israel. According to an Ahmedabad airport official, while there are no direct flights from South Africa to the city, the new state government guidelines do not change much as international travellers are required to furnish a negative RT-PCR report upon arrival.

The WHO, in its statement Friday, had noted that “several labs have indicated that for one widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected (called S gene dropout or S gene target failure) and this test can, therefore, be used as a marker for this variant, pending sequencing confirmation.”

However, a health official of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) added they would not be using S gene target failure as a marker and will only be relying on whole-genome sequencing results to determine whether a positive case involves the Omicron variant or not, with sequencing results taking anywhere between one week to 15 days.

The new rule also becomes significant in light of the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat programme, scheduled for January 2022.

Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) director Chaitanya Joshi said the lab has not seen any increase in the number of samples being sent for whole-genome sequencing, which otherwise ranges between five to 20 a day. Samples from the state are sent to GBRC and NIV Pune for whole-genome sequencing.

Gujarat reported 28 new cases of Covid-19, including 10 from the AMC jurisdiction, Saturday.