Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said four more cases of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, have been detected in Delhi and all have travel history to foreign countries. Meanwhile, Mumbai witnessed 8 Omicron cases on Tuesday.
The Omicron cases have not spread in the community so far and the situation is under control, he added.
From 24 cases four days ago, Omicron, said to be “highly transmissible”, crossed 50 mark across India on Tuesday. Maharashtra tops the list with 28 infections followed by Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Gujarat (4), Kerala (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1), Delhi reported (6) and Chandigarh (1). A total of 53 cases have been reported so far.
“So far, six people have been found Omicron positive in the Capital. One of them has been discharged. All of them had travelled to foreign countries and were transferred to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital from the (Indira Gandhi International) airport,” said Jain, adding that the Government is fully prepared to prevent the spread.
Currently, 35 Covid patients and 3 suspected cases are admitted to the LNJP Hospital.
He said, “All necessary steps are being taken to stop the spread of the new Omicron variant. The Delhi Government is keeping a sharp eye on the new cases and contact tracing is being done for the patients that are infected with the omicron variant. Necessary action is being taken to further stop the spread of the new variant.”
The Minister urged the people of Delhi to follow Covid’s appropriate behaviour and wear masks at all times.
Delhi’s first Omicron patient, a 37-year-old man from Ranchi, was discharged on Monday after he tested negative for Covid-19 twice, officials said.
He had travelled from Tanzania to Delhi via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg in South Africa for a week and had mild symptoms.
Under the Centre’s new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for passengers arriving from the “at-risk” countries and they can only leave the airport only after the results come.
Also, two per cent of the passengers arriving on flights from other countries are being tested randomly.