The national capital reported its first case of the COVID variant omicron Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday.
Mr Jain said a patient admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, who had returned from Tanzania, had tested positive for the new variant.
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The patient had sore throat, weakness and body aches, according to health officials, who said that the travel history of the patient is being traced and his contacts are being traced. Mr Jain said that the Delhi government is testing all those coming from the affected countries.
“So far 17 corona positive cases have been found and all these patients have been admitted to LNJP Hospital,” he said.
Along with this, six people who came in direct contact with these 17 positive cases have also been admitted to the isolation ward and they are being monitored and getting better treatment, the minister said.
Genome sequencing of all 17 was performed to confirm the new variants of Omicron.
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So far, genome sequencing of 12 people has been completed, of which, according to initial reports, one person from Tanzania has been confirmed to have an Omicron variant.
This is the fifth case of the variant detected in India. The first two cases were reported from Karnataka earlier this week. The other two cases were detected from Gujarat and Maharashtra on Saturday.
ommicron, First found in South Africa November 25, has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a sort of concern”.
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All COVID positive international passengers are being admitted to LNJP Hospital in Delhi, where a dedicated ward has been made for isolating and treating them.
According to the centre, the countries designated as “at risk” are the UK, and all European countries including South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.
Under the new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for travelers coming from “at-risk” countries.
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Speaking about the development, Mr. Jain said, “The people of Delhi should not panic. Omicron is not a new disease but a variant of the corona virus itself. Its symptoms are also almost similar to all the last forms,” he said.
The minister said that the protocol for its treatment and prevention is also the same as before.
“Seeing corona cases decreasing, people were not following COVID-19 proper behaviour, but now is the time when you need to be more careful. Those who have not taken the vaccine yet should get vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.
He further said, “The Delhi government had completed its preparations even before the arrival of the new corona variant. To deal with this virus, the Delhi government set up 40 isolation wards at Lok Nayak Hospital, with additional 500 beds if needed. are ready.
Responding to the central government’s decision not to stop flights from all countries affected by the Omicron version, Mr. Jain said, “It is very unfortunate. So far five new cases have been reported in the country. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written a letter to the Center appealing to stop the flights coming from these countries for some time. But the central government did not do that.”
He further said that “Delhi gets the maximum number of flights from abroad, so Delhi is at the highest risk. The central government should heed the demand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and stop all incoming flights from all countries affected by the Omicron variant at the earliest.” Should be put
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