Mysuru’s 1st Omicron case is a nine yr old from Switzerland

Shilpa P | NT

Mysuru: Mysuru reported the first case of Omicron on Thursday with a nine year old girl who had come from Switzerland, testing positive for the Covid variant.

“The child does not have any symptoms and has been isolated,” said District Health Officer Dr KH Prasad. According to sources, the child arrived along with her 46-year-old mother and three-year-old sister from Switzerland via Abu Dhabi at Kempegowda International airport on December 19. The mother of the child was vaccinated with both doses. Though they had a Covid negative report, they were tested again at KIA. When the child tested positive for Covid, her sample was sent for genome sequencing and the child was initially shifted to Bowring hospital in Bengaluru.

Later the girl was shifted to Manipal hospital in Bengaluru. Since the child was asymptomatic, the authorities permitted the parents to quarantine and treat her in Mysuru. Now that the genome sequencing report has proved positive for Omicron, the child will be isolated and treated.

Dr Prasad informed that the samples of the child’s primary contacts including its mother, younger sister and 76 year old grand mother in Mysuru, are being tested once in three days. So far their Covid test reports are negative.

At present, the Covid positivity rate in Mysuru is 0.22 percent and the death rate is almost nil. Yet, as a precautionary measure for a probable third wave, the Mysuru district administration is ready with 5400 beds including 2500 oxygen beds, 250 ICU beds and 250 ventilators. They are also ready to start Covid care centers (CCC) with 3000 beds in the entire district, including two CCCs in each taluk and four in Mysuru, he said.