Kerala detects first case of Omicron as UK-returnee tests positive

The first case of Omicron infection in Kerala has been detected, state Health Minister Veena George said on Sunday (December 12).

The patient was a Kerala native who had returned from UK recently. The patient’s condition is stable and there is no need to panic, George said, adding that the government was taking all necessary steps to curb spread of the new variant of the virus.

The patient had come via Dubai and tested positive on the second day of his arrival. His wife and mother too tested positive for COVID-19 and have been isolated, the minister said.

Around 150 co-passengers on the flight have been alerted and asked to test themselves and take precautions.

Earlier, a 34-year-old foreign traveller, who came from Ireland, tested positive for COVID with the latest strain Omicron, the first such case detected in Andhra Pradesh, the state Health Department said here on Sunday. A man from Italy who landed in Chandigarh and a man who came from South Africa to Bangalore too tested positive for the new variant.

The person, who first landed in Mumbai, was tested and found negative for COVID-19.
He was then allowed to travel onward to Visakhapatnam on November 27.

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“On conducting a second RT-PCR test in Vizianagaram, he tested positive for COVID-19. His sample was then sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for genome sequencing and the result came out as Omicron positive,” the Public Health Director said.

The person, however, did not have any symptoms and a re-test on December 11 showed he was COVID-19 negative.

“There are no other Omicron cases in the state,” the Director said.

So far, 15 foreign travellers who came to the state were found COVID positive and all the samples were sent to CCMB for genome sequencing.

“Of the 15, genome sequencing reports related to 10 cases were received and only one of them was confirmed Omicron positive,” the Director added.

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The Public Health Director asked people not to worry but continue to follow Covid appropriate behaviour and take necessary precautions.

A 20-year-old man with a recent travel history abroad, who had come to meet his relatives, has tested positive for Omicron, becoming the first patient of the new COVID-19 variant in Chandigarh.

“He was currently living in Italy. He had come to see some of his relatives here recently His report for whole genomic sequencing has been received late night on December 11 and has been found positive for Omicron variant,” Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, Dr. Suman Singh told PTI.

The youth, who is fully vaccinated, is currently in institutional quarantine.

With the addition of Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh, India’s Omicron tally has risen to 35. Maharastra has the highest number of cases (17).

(With Agency inputs)