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Bangalore: A day after Karnataka became the first state in the country to report cases of the Omicron version of Covid-19, health department officials are scrambling to identify the source of infection at a doctor in Bengaluru, in two cases. One has been identified.
It is learned that in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday evening, it was decided to trace the patient’s activities in the last one month. A set of new SOPs were also issued in the wake of the new version, which mandates double dose vaccination for school children and parents of government employees.
Asked by journalists whether the Omron version could already be in community transmission, State Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar said it was too early to comment on it. community spread, According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, occurs when a disease spreads without knowing the source of the infection.
Talking about the infected doctor, a highly placed source in the health ministry, who was privy to discussions at the meeting, told ThePrint, “He is a doctor and probably had a secondary or tertiary contact with someone with the variant. We don’t know the source yet. The only way to find the source is to review all of its activity over the past month. ,
The other Omicron case reported from Bengaluru was a traveler from South Africa who has since left the country. The doctor, who has been double-vaccinated, has no recent travel history. The health department is now trying to verify the source of infection in the doctor, especially as five of his contacts have also tested positive for Covid-19.
Earlier in the day, health department officials were gathering information about any seminars, talks, gatherings etc that doctors could attend in the past few weeks.
The source said, “There have been medical seminars in the last two weeks, but has he attended any, was he a speaker, did he contract the virus in such seminars – all this is yet to be verified. ”
Sudhakar said on Thursday that the process of identifying the source of infection is underway. However, officials of the Municipal Corporation, Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have remained silent.
Read also: Omicron Precaution: Government monitoring Kovid variants 40. Wants booster shots for older people
Travelers ‘moved to incommunicado’ tracing source
The cardiologist working at a government-run tertiary care hospital had developed symptoms like fever and body aches on November 21. The next day, he tested positive for Covid-19.
Their samples were sent for genome sequencing because their cycle threshold (Ct) values were low, indicating a high viral load. His sample was found to be an Omicron variant of Kovid-19.
The doctor was discharged from the hospital on November 27, but has since been re-admitted. Their residence has been sealed and neighbors have also been tested.
Meanwhile, health department officials were trying to reach 57 passengers who arrived in Karnataka from South Africa when the Omicron variant was discovered there. Of the 57, 10 have gone out of communication, the government said.
“It is not ethical to avoid trial and walk around in public. I urge 10 passengers to come forward and get tested. Talking to reporters on Friday, Sudhakar said that if you are Kovid-19 positive, then the government should help you take the best care.
new guidelines
Chief Minister Bommai held a review meeting on Friday evening, and new SOPs were issued in view of the Omicron version.
“All international passengers will be tested at the Bengaluru airport and will be allowed to exit the airport only if they test negative. We have made double dose of vaccination mandatory for parents and government employees of school children,” Revenue Minister R Ashok told reporters at a press conference on Friday evening after the review meeting.
“Only people covered by both doses of the vaccine will be allowed to go to theatres, cinema halls or malls,” he said.
Karnataka will reactivate the oxygen plants, coordination committees and call centers set up during the first and second wave. The government has also decided to set up dedicated, separate ICUs for Omicron and Delta variant cases as a precautionary measure.
The number of participants in meetings and events has been limited to 500. All social programs in schools and colleges to be postponed till January 15, 2022.
“For the convenience of international travelers, we will introduce a system that enables them to register for the test at a specific time and date at the Bengaluru airport, as soon as they board their flights in the country from which They are traveling. This will help reduce the delay here,” said Ashok.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
Read also: WHO deploys team to South Africa to deal with Omicron version as cases rise
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