Hyderabad: Telangana on Saturday reported a surge in Omicron cases with the state health department announcing that 12 more persons who landed in the city over the past few days, have tested positive for this new variant of the Coronavirus.
According to director of public health and family welfare Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, of the 12 cases that were confirmed as Omicron positive on Saturday after genome sequencing of Covid-19 positive samples from international travellers who landed at the RGI Airport in the city, 9 were foreigners, and 3 were Indians.
Ten of the 12 Omicron cases found on Saturday were from non-risk countries, while three were from at-risk countries.
This takes to 20 the total Omicron cases found from among international air passengers landing in the city since November 30 when mandatory collection of samples from persons arriving in the city from a list of at-risk countries was put into place. In addition, samples of 2 per cent of arrivals from other non-risk countries are also collected, and if found to be Covid-19 positive, then the samples are sent for genome sequencing. Till Saturday, a total of 46 passengers had tested positive for Covid-19, of whom 26 were found not to be carrying the Omicron variant.
Of the 20 Omicron cases detected so far in Telangana state, only four are from the at-risk countries, while the rest, 16, are from non-risk category nations.
Meanwhile, collection of samples from residents in the Paramount Hills Colony where most of the people arriving from non-risk African nations live, and where most of the Omicron positive persons have been found so far, continued on Saturday. Till Friday, Dr Srinivasa Rao had said that some 650 samples were collected. Another 150 were reportedly collected on Saturday.
The health department said there were 315 passengers who arrived in the city from at-risk countries on Saturday and among them, six were found to be Covid-19 positive. The department does not provide details of the number of passengers reaching the city from non-risk countries and selected randomly for testing for Covid. But it said 10 samples collected so far from such passengers tested positive for Omicron on Saturday.
All Omicron positive cases are supposed to be lodged at the specially set up Omicron ward at the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences at Gachibowli for treatment. However, it was learnt that as on Saturday evening there were seven Omicron patients in the special ward, and between five and seven patients admitted earlier, were discharged. While the health department has been mum on this issue, of the 20 Omicron cases found so far, six stay unaccounted for, because as per sources, the Omicron ward at TIMS has only seven patients undergoing treatment. The department may still be searching for some Omicron positive persons — as was the case with two other patients so far — or some some people who tested Omicron positive, could have persuaded the authorities to be shifted to private corporate hospitals, the sources said.
Omicron cases found on Dec 18*
- From Kenya - 6
- From Somalia - 2
- From UAE - 2
- From Ghana - 1
- From Tanzania - 1
- *9 foreign nationals, 3 Indians
- Omicron cases till Dec. 17 – 8
- Total cases so far in Telangana – 20
