Two fresh cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in Andhra Pradesh, taking the total official tally so far to six cases. The new cases were recorded in a 48-year-old man who recently travelled from South Africa, and a 51-year-old man who recently returned from the UK. In both cases, the patients’ primary and secondary contacts have been tested and were found negative for the coronavirus, according to a press note from the Andhra Pradesh Director of Public Health. So far, a total of 67 international travellers and 12 contacts of such travellers were found positive for the coronavirus, which were all sent for genome sequencing, the health department said.
The 48-year-old male, who belongs to Prakasam district, arrived from South Africa to Hyderabad on December 16 and then travelled to Ongole. His sample was collected on December 19, and his test returned positive the next day. The sixth Omicron patient, a 51-year-old man from Anantapur, had returned from the UK and arrived at the Bengaluru airport on December 18. He tested positive for coronavirus on December 21.
Both their samples were sent for genome sequencing to the Centre For Cellular And Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and were confirmed to have been of the Omicron variant on December 25. The press note said that both patients are in a healthy state and in quarantine under the close observation of the health department.
Earlier on Friday, December 24, the state had reported two cases of Omicron variant from East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts. A 41-year-old woman in East Godavari district came from Kuwait to Vijayawada on December 19 and her samples collected at the airport were declared positive for coronavirus on December 20. In the second case, a 33-year-old man from Visakhapatnam visited the UAE and returned on December 15. He was treated in a private hospital as he was suffering from fever. He tested positive for the coronavirus on December 16.
With PTI inputs