After a 32-year-old merchant navy engineer who returned from South Africa's Cape town to his Dombivli residence tested positive for Covid-19, the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation authorities carried out a Covid-19 test of eight people from his family who came in touch with him fearing the newly emerging Omicron variant.
Fortunately, all eight members tested negative. The KDMC has now started taking the test of the residents staying in the building.
Vijay Suryavanshi, Municipal commissioner, KDMC said they have collected and sent his samples for genome sequencing to check about the new omicron variant.
The man coming from Cape Town had again woken up the health department. Also, a panic situation has been created in the twin city over the new variant.
Sources claim the man travelled from Cape Town to Dubai, then to Delhi and then to Mumbai.
"He took a cab from Mumbai international airport to his residence in Dombivli. After he tested positive, a question is being raised as to how many people he came in contact with. As soon as the KDMC health department found out about him. He was been shifted to a quarantine centre and is undergoing treatment," said an official.
The KDMC health department claims the report will take almost seven days to come. "We have carried out tests of eight members of his family including mother, father, brother, sister and others. All are test negative," said the official.
The official further added that he went through a Covid-19 test at Delhi airport, but the report was awaiting. During his Delhi to Mumbai travel, his mobile phone was not reachable. So after he reached Mumbai, he received a message informing him about testing positive for Covid-19. However, he informed his family to stay away and had quarantined himself in the house.
Suryavanshi, the municipal commissioner of KDMC, said they had carried out a video conferencing meeting with around 100 practising doctors from private, family and government hospitals.
Suryavanshi has asked the family doctors and private hospitals to be alert. "Any person coming from countries like South Africa, Belgium and Hong Kong and is tested positive then it should be informed to the health department," he added.
Suryavanshi had also asked citizens to follow the guidelines of Covid-19 by wearing a mask, using sanitisers and following social distance to be safe.
