India confirms two cases of Omicron Covid variant: What we know so far

The health ministry has been advising states and Union territories to keep a strict vigil and undertake surveillance of international passengers coming to the country through various airports.  Testing of samples of international travellers coming from ‘at risk’ countries on the first day and of specified category of passengers on the eighth day needs to be scrupulously done, it had stressed.

Here’s what we know so far:

*Both cases of the Omicron Covid variant have been found in Karnataka. While one case is of a male doctor aged 46, the other is a 66-year-old South African national, who returned home last week.

*Both the patients have mild symptoms. Govt said all primary and secondary contacts of the two patients were traced and were being tested.

*As many as five contacts of the doctor have also tested positive and quarantined in a government hospital in Bengaluru. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, state authorities said Thursday.

*A total of 218 contacts of the doctor have been tested and two primary contacts and three secondary contacts have tested positive, officials said.

*On the other hand, none of the 264 contacts of the South African national, who returned to South Africa via Dubai on Nov 27 after testing negative in Bengaluru, have tested positive for Covid 19, officials said.

*Both the individuals who tested positive were double vaccinated, officials said.

*The Health Ministry has urged people not to panic and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and avoid large gatherings. Officials also said that an increase in COVID-19 vaccine uptake was the need of the hour.

*The Centre also said that that 373 cases of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in 29 nations so far.

The World Health Organisation has warned of the potential for Covid surges with “severe consequences” fueled by omicron, whose constellation of mutations suggests it may be both more transmissible and capable of evading the immunity provided by vaccination or a prior infection.

Earlier today, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed Parliament on Thursday that 11 countries including the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Israel have been placed in the ‘at-risk’ category amid the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

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