Home » Two more Omicron cases in Maharashtra, India’s tally now at 23

Two more Omicron cases in Maharashtra, India’s tally now at 23

by Raju Vernekar
0 comments 4 minutes read

IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Dec 7:

With a 37-year-old South Africa returnee man and his 36-year-old US returnee friend, showing signs of infection by new variant, Maharashtra’s tally stood at 10, while India’s tally of Omicron cases rose to 23 on Monday.
The overall tally stood as : Maharashtra-10, Rajasthan-09, Karnataka-02, Gujarat -01 and Delhi-01=23
A 37-year-old South Africa returnee man and his 36-year-old US returnee friend, were confirmed in Maharashtra, where five high-risk and 315 low-risk contacts of the patients have been traced till now. Further tracing is currently underway.
The first two cases were reported in Karnataka, followed by one in Jamnagar (Gujarat) and another in Maharashtra. Later on Sunday, seven cases were reported in Maharashtra’s Pune district, of which six belonged to the same family. In Jaipur (Rajasthan), nine cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed — all of whom had attended the same wedding. In Delhi, a man in his 30s who returned from Tanzania was found to be infected with the new variant and admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital.
Most of those who tested positive either recently arrived from African countries or were in contact with such people. The nine people who tested positive in Jaipur (Rajasthan) include four members of a family who returned from South Africa recently. The first two Omicron cases in India were reported in Karnataka last Thursday, where a 66-year-old South African flyer and a 46-year-old Bengaluru doctor with no travel history had tested positive. 
On Saturday, a 72-year-old NRI from Gujarat and a 33-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Thane tested positive for the new strain. The marine engineer, who had arrived in Delhi from South Africa on November 23 and had then taken a flight to Mumbai, is currently undergoing treatment at a Covid-19 care centre in Kalyan town, located about 50 km from Mumbai.
The first patient to test positive for Omicron in Delhi was a 37-year-old resident of Ranchi who had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 02.
A new variant of Covid-19 was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 09 this year. On November 26, the WHO named the new Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529 as ‘Omicron’. The WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’.
According to the Union Government, the countries designated as “at-risk” include the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.
International Travel
In addition to the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as per the Maharashtra Government Order, the passengers shall be declared as high-risk if (i) They are arriving from high-risk countries namely South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. (ii) Air passengers who have visited any of these High-Risk Countries” in past 15 days before arrival in Maharashtra. The restrictions apply to these passengers in addition to those imposed by GOI are: High-Risk Air Passengers may be deplaned on priority and separate counters will be arranged by respective airport management authorities at all International airports in Maharashtra for their screening and verification.
High risk passengers
Such all High-Risk passengers shall have to undergo RTPCR test immediately on arrival at the respective International airport and shall undergo mandatory 7-day ‘Institutional Quarantine’ with second RTPCR test to be carried out on 7th day. If any of the tests is found to be positive, then the passenger will be shifted to the hospital. In case 7th day RTPCR test comes negative, such High Risk Passengers will have to undergo a further 7 days of home quarantine.
Travellers from Non-risk countries
Two per cent of the total flight passengers in each flight shall be identified by concerned airlines (preferably from different countries). Post arrival they will undergo testing at random at the airport. The cost of their test will be borne by travellers themselves. If these travellers tested positive, they shall be managed as per laid down standard protocols.
Testing at the airport
Amid rising concerns over the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, the authorities at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) have stepped up testing facilities to cater to the new travel guidelines put in place by the Centre and state government.
In an official statement, the airport authorities said they have set up 100 registration counters and 60 sampling booths to handle the Covid-19 testing requirements. They have also arranged 100 Rapid PCR machines.

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