Capital reports first case of Omicron variant, fifth in the country

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India: On Sunday, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Delhi, taking the total count of confirmed Omicron cases in India to five.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director at LNJP Hospital, said that the Omicron patient had a sore throat and fever initially. The patient is also suffering from body pain and weakness, but no drop in oxygen level has been recorded.

“The patient is being monitored 24 hours a day and special care is being taken of the oxygen level. If the number of Omicron patients in the hospital increases, we are ready for it,” he said.

“To avoid new variants, get both doses of the vaccine and the ICU will not be needed,” Dr Suresh Kumar added.

An unvaccinated Dombivli resident who returned from South Africa’s Cape Town via Dubai was detected with the Omicron variant on Saturday. This was the first confirmed Omicron case in Maharashtra and fourth in India.

Before that, one Omicron case was confirmed in Gujarat and two in Karnataka. A 72-year-old who had travelled to Zimbabwe tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, while a South Africa returnee and an individual with no travel history were found to be infected with the Omicron variant in Karnataka.

The Omicron variant, first detected in southern African countries, was designated a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation last week. Omicron cases have been detected in several countries across the world.

The patient, who returned from Tanzania, has been admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in the national capital, where a separate ward has been set up for Omicron patients. The patient is fully vaccinated.

“Until now, 17 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have been admitted to LNJP Hospital. Genome sequencing for twelve of these samples has been done. As per the preliminary report, one out of the twelve samples had the Omicron variant. This patient has been isolated separately,” Satyendar Jain informed on Sunday.

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