Omicron Variant Latest News Today: As per updates, the swab samples of all nine people have been sent for genome sequencing to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital
Omicron Variant Latest News: Over 9 members of a family in Rajasthan’s Jaipur have test positive for coronavirus, just a few days after four of them returned from South Africa, putting the Health Department on alert amid concerns over the Omicron variant.
Speaking to news agency PTI, a state health official said the people who returned from South Africa have been admitted to a hospital in Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) and swab samples of all nine people have been sent for genome sequencing to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
Giving further details, Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Narottam Sharma said 14 samples were taken for testing from the family, nine of which tested positive for the infection. He added that in the contact tracing, it was found that four of them had returned from South Africa.
As per the guidelines of the state, those who returned from South Africa have been isolated at the RUHS hospital while the other five have been home quarantined.
At present, Rajasthan has 213 active cases. The maximum 114 active cases are from Jaipur alone.
Amid Omicron scare, the Central government earlier in the day issued a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the variant and said there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2
The Centre, however, underscored that definitive evidence for new variant’s increased remission and immune evasion is awaited.
On the possibility of a third wave of Covid infection, the ministry said Omicron cases are increasingly being reported from countries outside of South Africa and given its characteristics, it is likely to spread to more countries, including India.
“Further, given the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to delta variant as evidenced by high seropositivity, the severity of the disease is anticipated to be low. However, scientific evidence is still evolving,” the Health Ministry said.
