Omicron: Nine people test positive in Jaipur

Total number of people infected in India rises to 21

New Delhi: As many as nine people have tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Rajasthan’s Jaipur district, officials said on Sunday. The patients include four members of a family who had recently returned from South Africa. Their samples were sent for genome sequencing to Jaipur’s state-run Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

With this, the total number of people infected with the strain across India has reached 21. A total of seven more people were detected with the variant in Maharashtra’s Pune on Sunday too.

“Four persons in Pune who returned from foreign tours and three of their close contacts have tested positive for the Omicron variant,” said the Maharashtra health department.

Among those who have been affected is a woman who came from Nigeria along with her two daughters. The woman’s brother and his two daughters have also tested positive, said officials. Another case is of a man from Pune who returned from Finland last week.

The first two cases of Omicron were reported in Karnataka. On Saturday, the third case was reported from Gujarat’s Jamnagar. Later, a man from Maharashtra who travelled to Mumbai from South Africa via Dubai and Delhi was found positive for the new variant too. Delhi reported its first and the country’s fifth Omicron case on Sunday morning. The patient, a Tanzania returnee, has mild symptoms as he had taken both doses of the vaccine.

Little is known about the variant, and the world is watching nervously. It’s not clear if it makes people more seriously ill or can evade the vaccine. But early evidence suggests it might be more contagious and more efficient at re-infecting people who have had a bout with COVID-19.

In the coming weeks, labs around the world will be working to find out what to expect from omicron and just how dangerous it is. A surge in cases due to the Omicron variant across Europe and parts of Africa has led to travel bans and economic uncertainty across economies. The variant was first reported from South Africa, Botswana and other neighbouring nations in that region. The first case of B.1.1.529 infection was reported from South Africa on November 25.

On 26 November, the WHO named the new Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529 as ‘Omicron’. The WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’. To deal with this, several countries have imposed travel restrictions and local lockdowns.

India has added several countries to the “at-risk” list from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in the country, including post-arrival testing for infection.

According to the Centre, the countries designated as “at-risk” include the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. -(Agencies)

Half of India’s adult population fully vaccinated against COVID-19

New Delhi: Over 50 per cent of India’s eligible adult population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded 127.61 crore. As per Health Ministry officials, over 84.8% of the adult population in India has been administered the first dose. -(PTI)