As the scare of Omicron becomes real in India, with its first two cases being detected in Karnataka– a South African national and a Bengaluru doctor with no travel history and both men fully vaccinated — Centre faces questions from opposition parties on a timeline for a booster vaccine. Karnataka health minister recently said that police are trying to track down ten other foreigners, who are missing in Bangalore and requested the public to behave maturely.
K Sudhakar said that the state has reviewed thoroughly the preparedness in medical colleges, and if a third wave happens fuelled by Omicron, then they are ready to tackle it.
Currently, five contacts of the doctor have also tested positive for Covid had their samples sent for genomic sequencing, the Karnataka government has said. Apart from that, eight cases in Delhi, one in Chandigarh, five in Jaipur, one in Hyderabad, nine in Maharashtra, as well as one in Chennai and Trichy (Tiruchirappalli) each are currently under monitoring with their samples being sent for genome sequencing. The Hyderabad case is of a 35-year-old woman who travelled to the city from the United Kingdom a day before, and in Rajasthan, a family of four recently returned from South Africa and tested positive. Five more people who came in contact with the family also tested positive. All of them are currently self-isolating and their report of genome sequencing is awaited.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said that samples of eight people have tested positive so far. Four are RTPCR positive and four are RAT. Currently, genome sequencing is being done at LNJP. It will take some time for results to come. The minister said that the maximum threat is from people who are travelling in from abroad. Infection spreading from other states is also possible but only after the new variant infects a large number of people. The state government is likely to discuss curbs if need be, he added.
Two international air travellers, including a child, who had arrived in Tamil Nadu from Singapore and the United Kingdom have tested positive for Covid-19 and the government ruled out social media reports claiming they were cases of Omicron but said tests only would conclude if they are infected with the latest variant of the coronavirus. Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ma Subramanian, told reporters here that a man who arrived from Singapore to Tiruchirappally in the wee hours and the child who had come along with his family here from the UK have tested positive for Covid and regretted that there were claims in social media that both were infected with the Omicron variant.
Both the UK and Singapore are high-risk countries. “The passenger from Singapore arrived at Tiruchirappalli at 3.30 AM (on Friday). He tested positive and has been shifted to the local medical college where he has been quarantined. His sample will undergo genome sequencing and we have a facility here for this purpose. However, it will also be sent to a lab in Bengaluru and only after that result would we come to know if he is infected with Omicron,” he said.
“He is only Covid positive as of now,” the minister added. Without divulging much details about the second case, he said the child along with his family have been admitted to the King’s Institute here where the relevant tests are being conducted.
Refuting social media claims that both the cases were Omicron variants, Subramanian said “we will be transparent in announcing the results” as it would only help in creating more public awareness against the pandemic and urged social media users to be careful about opining on the “sensitive issue.” The co-passengers seated in the front and rear rows of the flights in which these two travelled and the flight crew have also been tested, he said.
The Union Health Ministry while confirming the detection of two cases of Omicron variant in Bengaluru asked people not to panic but follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay. It also said the scientific reasoning for booster vaccine doses is under examination and that priority is to complete the task of receiving both jabs of COVID vaccine.
Besides the cases detected in India, 373 cases of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in 29 nations so far, according to an official.
The new potentially more contagious B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 24, and has been designated as a “Variant of Concern” by the global body, which named it Omicron. . Lav Agarwal, the joint secretary in the Union Health Ministry, told a news conference in Delhi that both the patients had mild symptoms. Severe symptoms have not been noted, he added. The Karnataka state authorities identified the patients as a 66-year-old South African man, who has since left for Dubai, and a 46-year-old male doctor working at a government hospital in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru civic agency officials said the South African national came to the city on November 20 and his samples were collected at the airport. After he tested Covid positive, his samples were sent for genomic sequencing. “The reports have come on Thursday confirming that the Covid infection was caused by the Omicron variant,” BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta told reporters.
He said the person was isolated in a hotel and underwent Covid test at another laboratory. “This time, his reports came negative and he left for Dubai on November 27 as scheduled,” Gupta said. Gupta said all the 24 primary contacts and 240 secondary contacts of the foreign national have tested negative. “But they are still kept under watch.” The Bengaluru doctor had tested positive on November 22 and has no travel history to South Africa or any other country, he said. On developing tiredness, weakness and fever the doctor got tested on November 22, following which he tested positive, he added.
The doctor’s 13 primary contacts and 205 secondary contacts have been tested, Gupta said. “Three primary and two secondary contacts have tested positive. They have been kept under isolation and samples have been sent for sequencing.” According to officials, both the persons were inoculated with two doses of Covid vaccine. Agarwal said that following the detection of the two Omicron cases through the INSACOG network, all their primary and secondary contacts were traced in time and tested.
“We need not panic about the Omicron detection but awareness is absolutely essential. Follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and avoid mass gatherings,” ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said, adding that increased COVID-19 vaccine uptake was the need of the hour. “Do not delay in getting fully vaccinated,” he told the joint news conference in Delhi.
Health Minister K Sudhakar said detection of the new variant proved that aggressive testing has helped in faster identification. “How it (Omicron) spreads, we can’t say as of now, but there is no need to worry as all the six cases identified so far don’t have any major health issues. We have seen the Delta variant, it had intensity, more issues like breathing, such things have not been noticed so far. Symptoms here are mild,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.
Sudhakar said the Doctor and his five contacts have been isolated and admitted to a government hospital in Bengaluru and are being monitored. “There are no major issues, they have mild symptoms, which is a matter of comfort.” Participating in a discussion on the Covid pandemic in the Lok Sabha, Opposition members demanded that the government should inform the House about the roadmap for full vaccination and the booster dose. “Questions need to be answered over issues such as booster dose of Covid vaccine, whether the gap between Covishield doses could be reduced and status of vaccination for children,” said Amol Ramsing Kolhe of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP).
Responding to a question at the press briefing, Agarwal said the scientific reasoning for boosters at what timing for which vaccine all that is under examination. “Our priority is the complete task of receiving both vaccines and this is the strategy which will give us the best dividend”.
About the possibility of clamping a lockdown given the detection of the Omicron variant in India, NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul said, “Under the current situation, there is no need for it.” “Pandemic situation is under control. This is a new challenge which we will address and we have tools to tackle it. We will not panic or fear. “We have the responsibility of wearing masks, staying in well-ventilated areas and not crowd spaces. Mask is the universal vaccine,” Paul added.
About vaccine coverage, Agarwal said 84.3 per cent of the adult population in India got the first dose while 49 per cent got the second dose. On the detection of the Omicron variant in India, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the regional director of WHO South-East Asia in a statement 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,” she added.
After two cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in the country, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was sad that international flights were not stopped from the affected countries. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also held a meeting in Delhi with airport and port health officers as well as other authorities over screening and surveillance at all points of entries amid concerns over the ‘Omicron’ variant, official sources said.
The health ministry has been advising states and Union territories to keep a strict vigil and undertake surveillance of international passengers coming to the country through various airports. Testing of samples of international travellers coming from at risk’ countries on the first day and of a specified category of passengers on the eighth day needs to be scrupulously done, it had stressed.
International passengers from at-risk countries are being advised to wait at airports till the report of the RT-PCR test is available. List of countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing are those in Europe, including the United Kingdom, besides South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.
On the significance of vaccination in view of the new variant, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said despite this new challenge vaccination is the most critical tool. “We are fortunate that we have the tool (vaccination) in plenty and there is no doubt that coverage of vaccines has to increase. Look at the big picture, we have this tool and we must protect every eligible individual with this tool”.
On contact tracing approach of individuals detected with Omicron in India, Dr. Sujeet Kumar Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, said the government is tracing three types of contacts – primary, secondary and tertiary. “Remote contacts are also being traced…it comes in the state government domain and state surveillance officers are cooperating for it. In this case (2 cases of omicron) -the primary, secondary and tertiary contacts have been traced.”.
With two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus detected in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Thursday said he will discuss the matter in a high-level meeting in Bengaluru on Friday and take the next course of action. “We are holding a meeting tomorrow with all details and will come out with new SoPs (standard operating procedure). We are also trying to get expert views and guidelines of the Centre,” he told reporters here. Bommai said though there is confirmation about the two cases of Omicron variant in Karnataka, the NCBS lab report has not come officially to the state government.
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