2 Omicron Cases In India: One Left For Dubai Week After Testing Positive, Other Has No Travel History

The 46-year-old healthcare worker, who tested positive on November 22, has no travel history to South Africa or any other country. The other, a 66-year-old South African man who came to Bengaluru on November 20, left India for Dubai after testing negative on November 27.

Bengaluru: India’s first cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Karnataka on Thursday. According to the Union ministry of health and family welfare, a 66-year-old male and a 46-year-old male tested positive for the variant in Bengaluru. However, the 66-year-old patient, who is a South African traveller, left for Dubai on a flight seven days after testing positive.

According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru’s municipal corporation, the man, who is doubly vaccinated against coronavirus, arrived from South Africa with a negative COVID-19 test report. Upon his arrival, he checked into a hotel the same day and was found to be positive for COVID-19.

He was found to be asymptomatic so the government doctor advised to self-isolate. Also, his samples were sent for genome sequencing on November 22.

All 24 primary contacts and 240 secondary contacts were tested and found to be negative for COVID-19. Later on November 23, the man took another COVID-19 test at a private lab and the result came back negative, a report from  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, on November 27, around midnight, the man checked out of the hotel, took a cab to the airport and boarded a flight to Dubai, as per his pre-decided schedule.

The one with no travel history

The other Omicron positive patient is a local with no travel history, BBMP said on Thursday. He is said to be a Doctor and had got an RT-PCR test done after he developed body ache and other symptoms.

“On November 21, he developed fever and body ache. He underwent an RT-PCR test on November 22 around 10am and by 4pm, he was declared Covid positive. Since he had a low CT value (which indicates a high viral load), his sample was sent for genomic sequencing,” the report said.

The patient was in home isolation between November 22 to 24. On November 25, he was shifted to a hospital and was discharged on November 27.

His 13 primary contacts and 205 secondary contacts have been tested. The city civic body said five contacts of the local person have also tested positive and their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing.

It remains unclear how patient number two, who doesn’t have a travel history or contact with patient number one contracted the new variant which wasn’t detected in India before. “No comments,” said BBMP commissioner Gupta, when asked about the source of the new variant in the second patient.

Following the detection of the new variant, the Karnataka government has asked the officials concerned to increase testing and tracking at various airports in Karnataka. The government on Tuesday issued directions to test all international passengers arriving in the state.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has labelled Omicron a Virus of Concern last Friday, and the UN health body suggested that preliminary evidence found an increased risk of re-infection with this variant, as compared to other variants of concern.