India’s tally of Omicron cases rose to 37 on Sunday as three more people tested positive for the new variant in Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh and Nagpur.
Kerala reported its first case of Omicron. The patient had returned from UK to Kochi on December 6. He had tested Covid-19 positive on December 8, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.
Nagpur in Maharashtra reported its first Omicron case on Sunday with a 40-year-old man testing positive for this variant of coronavirus after returning from a West African country
A 34-year-old male, who travelled from Ireland to Mumbai and then Vizag, tested positive for Covid-19 on November 27 and his samples were sent for genome sequencing in which he was found positive for Omicron. He was re-tested on December 11 and found negative for Covid-19.
This is the first case of Omicron identified in Andhra Pradesh. So far, a total of 15 foreign travellers have been found Covid positive and all the samples sent for genome sequencing. Authorities said public is advised not to worry and believe in any rumours but continue to take precautions and follow social distancing, wear mask and wash hands regularly.
In Chandigarh, the patient was identified as a 20-year-old who came from Italy on November 22. He was found Covid-19 positive on December 1 and subsequent testing revealed he was infected with Omicron.
The Karnataka patient was identified as a 34-year-old male returning from South Africa. He is isolated and being treated in a government hospital. Five primary and 15 secondary contacts have been traced and samples sent for testing, said the state health minister.
States including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat have reported cases of the new Covid variant. Maharashtra has seen the maximum number of cases.
The Omicron strain, said to be “highly transmissible”, has spread to at least 59 nations. The UK, Denmark, and South Africa are the top three countries with the highest number of Omicron cases.
Last week, the World Health Organisation warned nations in the Asia-Pacific region to boost healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people in preparation for a surge.
Observing that data on the new SARS-CoV2 variant, Omicron, is still emerging, an expert has said the very high rate of ‘seropositivity’ should keep the country in good stead even as he emphasised on increased vaccination coverage and adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour. “Because, India has the advantage of very high rate of ‘seropositivity’ of 70, 80 per cent, and in big cities more than 90 per cent people already have antibodies,” Rakesh Mishra, former Director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), told news agency PTI.
In view of the protection available to people, even if they get infected, it will be very mild and most of the time asymptomatic, Mishra, currently Director, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bangalore, said. It would help the cause in a big way if vaccination coverage is further expanded and if vaccines for children are rolled out, he noted.
The spread of Omicron almost looks certain in the country though data is still emerging, but the situation would be better than with Delta as the symptoms appear to be only milder. However, there is no scope for lowering guard as the virus should be prevented from becoming more virulent. The only way to do that is wearing masks properly, maintaining social distance and vaccination, he stressed.
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