The parents have not tested positive. We are following all protocols, says official
A seven-year-old child who returned from Abu Dhabi last week has tested positive for Omicron. This is the first reported case of type COVID-19 in West Bengal. The child’s parents had returned from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad on December 10 and then boarded a flight from Hyderabad to Kolkata.
“The child has tested positive for Omicron, but the parent has not. We are following all protocols. If necessary, we will get the child admitted to the hospital,” said Sandeep Sanyal, chief medical officer of health, Murshidabad. Hindu,
Dr Sanyal said that though the family is based out of Farakka, the parent and child are currently staying at a relative’s house at Kaliachak in Malda district.
State health department officials said genome sequencing of samples collected at the Kolkata airport has confirmed the presence of the variant in the child’s samples.
Questions are being raised that if the child had tested positive for COVID-19, how could the family members travel to Malda and not isolate themselves. There are reports that the family had traveled by road from Kolkata to Murshidabad. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated Omicron as a Concern (VOC).
Around 500 new cases of COVID-19 are being reported daily in West Bengal. Though the number of infections is under control considering the population, the state records around eight to 10 deaths due to COVID-19 infections every day. Ten deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 19,620.
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