The Ministry of Health said on Thursday that two Omicron variants of COVID-19 cases have been found in India. This is the first time that a coronavirus strain has been confirmed in the country, triggering a global alert.
Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the Ministry of Health, said at a press conference that both cases were reported in Karnataka. The patients were two men aged 66 and 46, adding Said that in order to protect their privacy, their identities will not be revealed at this time.

According to sources, although the 66-year-old is a foreigner with a history of traveling in South Africa, the 46-year-old is a health worker in Bangalore.

He said that all people who have been in contact with the two men have been tracked and are being tested, adding that both cases are mild and there are no serious symptoms.

“There is no need to panic about Omicron’s testing, but awareness is absolutely necessary. Follow Coivd’s appropriate behavior and avoid gatherings,” Mr. Agarwal said.

Early indications indicate that the heavily mutated Omicron may be more contagious than the previous variant, but there is no evidence that this strain is more lethal. “There will not be any severe containment measures in the short term. The situation has been well controlled,” said Dr. VK Paul, head of the center’s COVID-19 working group.

India was originally scheduled to restart regular commercial international flights on December 15, but cancelled the plan on Wednesday and said it would announce the resumption date in due course.

A week after the Ministry of Health stated that the recent drop in testing might undermine India’s efforts to contain the pandemic, the government recommended that states strengthen testing. After battling record infections and deaths in April and May, coronavirus cases have fallen in India, where the Delta variant is the main strain. The country reported 9,765 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 34.61 million. Only the United States reported more.

News Source : NDTV