On Sunday, Delhi verified its first Omicron case, bringing the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country to five. According to Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, the patient has returned from Tanzania and is presently hospitalised to the LNJP hospital. Around 17 travellers who arrived in Delhi in the last few days from “at-risk” countries have been hospitalised to the government’s LNJP hospital after testing positive for Covid.
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Their samples were sent out to be sequenced. 13 overseas travellers suspected of being contaminated with Omicron were confined to a special isolation ward at Lok Nayak hospital till Saturday evening. Officials verified that the Tanzanian returnee was the only person from Africa among them, with the rest hailing from Europe and the United States.
Though this is the first occurrence in the Capital, LNJP hospital has been designated for the treatment of the Omicron variety. Delhi is the third city to have discovered the new strain, which was initially discovered in South Africa. Bengaluru reported the first two Omicron incidents, while Gujarat’s Jamnagar reported the third, and Mumbai reported the fourth.
All four cases reported from India are connected to overseas travel, with the exception of a 46-year-old Bengaluru doctor who was confirmed infected with this novel strain of the coronavirus. A South African national was the first verified Omicron case, and he has since returned to his homeland after testing negative. The Omicron case in Mumbai involves a South African-born unvaccinated marine engineer. Gujarat Omicron is a non-resident Indian (NRI) who has lived in Zimbabwe for many years.
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The variation is thought to be more transmissible than Delta, yet experts believe that Omicron instances are minor, with essentially no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms, based on existing research and cases. Because foreign travellers remain the primary source of Omicron, major cities are at a higher risk.
