2 cases of Omicron variant detected in Karnataka: Govt
   Date :03-Dec-2021

Omicron variant _1 &
 
 
NEW DELHI :
 
TWO cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union Government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay. Both the patients are men aged 66 years and 46 years with mild symptoms. Severe symptoms have not been noted, an official said during a press conference. One of the infected people has already recovered, while the other is in under hotel quarantine in Bengaluru. The BBMP has tracked primary contacts of the two infected persons. While 12 primary contacts of the first infected person tested negative, 212 primary contacts of second infected have been quarantined and their results are awaited. All are asymptomatic. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said as many as five persons who were primary and secondary contacts of one of the infected persons with Omicron variant, have tested positive for COVID-19, and their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing for confirmation.
 
According to officials, the first infected person arrived from South Africa on November 1 and the 2nd one between November 15 and 20. The first infected person has completed quarantine and is healthy and the second one is also asymptomatic and all right, sources said, adding that increased COVID-19 vaccine uptake was the need of the hour. “We need not panic about Omicron detection but awareness is essential. Follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and avoid gatherings,” official said. “Do not delay in getting fully vaccinated,” he said. The Government stated that 373 cases of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in 29 nations so far and India was monitoring the situation. “It is too early to assess whether Omicron causes more severe infection or less compared to other variants, including Delta,” the official told. the press conference quoting the World Health Organisation which has designated the latest variant as a ‘variant of concern’.
 
The press conference was informed that the South East Asian region, including India, has only 3.1 per cent of the world’s COVID-19 cases in the last one week. About vaccine coverage, the official said 84.3 per cent of the adult population in India got the first dose while 49 per cent got the second dose. Kerala and Maharashtra have over 10,000 active COVID cases while nine states and Union Territories have active cases between 1,000 and 10,000. The weekly COVID positivity rate was over 10 per cent in 15 districts and between 5 and 10 per cent in 18 districts, the official said. On the detection of the Omicron variant in India, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the regional director of WHO South-East Asia, said, “It was not unexpected given the interconnected world that we live in.”
 
“This emphasizes the need for all countries to step up surveillance, be on alert, rapidly detect any importation and take measures to curtail further spread of the virus.” The response measures for all variants of SARS-CoV-2, including Omicron, is the same. Comprehensive and tailored public health and social measures by governments and strict adherence to precautionary steps by individuals is a must, she added.