As many as five people who were primary and secondary contacts of one of the infected persons with Omicron variant have tested COVID-19 positive, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said on Thursday. The samples of the five persons have been sent for genomic sequencing for confirmation.
Mr Gupta said, “The Omicron variant has been found in a person who doesn`t have travel history. He was tested after fever, body ache symptoms developed in him. His samples were tested on November 22 and later, samples were sent for genomic sequencing on November 24. There is a possibility of the presence of Omicron virus in the society. People need to be careful and wear masks.”
The person, one of the two individuals with Omicron variant of COVID-19, is a 66-year-old man from South Africa who came to Bengaluru airport on November 20 and had returned a positive test for COVID-19. The municipal corporation sent his sample for genomic sequencing and received the the result on Thursday, added the BBMP Chief.
The person was isolated in a hotel.
All primary 24 contacts and 240 secondary contacts have been traced and samples were taken by Urban Primary Health Centre officials. All have been tested negative. "We are keeping a watch on them till date," he underlined.
The infected person had taken a test in another lab and tested negative. Since he had pre-fixed the programme he was allowed to go to Dubai through Bengaluru airport, he explained.
The sample was collected from a 46-year-old person on November 22 and sent to the NCBS lab. His result has also shown that he is positive for Omicron virus. He was kept in home isolation first and later shifted to hospital, he said.
His 13 primary contacts and 205 secondary contacts have been tracked. Three among primary contacts and two among secondary contacts have been tested positive for Covid-19. They have been isolated and further their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing for confirmation of presence of Omicron virus and results are awaited, he explained. The second person didn`t have travel history, Gupta said.
Genomic sequencing tests took 2 months to give results earlier. Now, results are available in 8 days.
Series of meetings have already been held to discuss handling of the situation in the wake of the arrival of new variant, he said.
