After another Omicron variant case was reported in India's Gujarat state taking the total to 3 cases in the country, the Health and welfare department on Saturday said that a micro containment zone has been made where the patient is living.
Manoj Aggarwal, ACS, Health & Family Welfare Dept, Gujarat, said, "We've isolated him and are monitoring him." The ACS also added that a micro containment zone has been made where he is living.
"In the area, we will do the tracing, testing of people," he added.
Gujarat today registered first Omicron case after a Zimbabwe resident, who arrived in Jamnagar, was found infected with Covid-19's new mutant.
The Nodal officer for Corona, GG Hospital, Jamnagar, Dr S. Chatterjee told IANS: "Samples of the 72-year-old Zimbabwe resident sent to Biotechnological Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad tested positive for Omicron. The patient is in isolation since his admission. We had traced all his close contacts, screened them and they tested negative. But we will conduct the test of all his contacts once again."
The man is believed to be a native of Jamnagar who has been living in Zimbabwe for many years.
He arrived on November 28 to meet his father-in-law. After he got a fever, his doctor advised him to get an RT-PCR test done. As mandated, the private laboratory informed the health authorities that his report was Covid-19 positive.
The first cases of Omicron were reported in Karnataka.
A new variant of COVID-19 was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9 this year.
On November 26, the WHO named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'. The WHO has classified Omicron as a 'variant of concern'.