Omicron cases touch 55 in Telangana; health staff gear up for vax drive
HYDERABAD: Omicron cases in Telangana shot past the 50-mark on Monday with the state health department reporting 12 more cases of infection of the new variant of the Coronavirus in the state.
The addition of 12 more Omicron cases took the total cases of this Coronavirus variant found in the state so far to 55. Monday’s new 10 cases were from among those who flew into the city from countries listed as not-at-risk by the Centre. Two others are cases of more incidences of local transmission in Rajanna-Sircilla district that were announced by the health department on Monday.
The department said in its daily Covid-19 bulletin that 24 persons who flew in from at-risk countries on Monday tested positive for Covid-19 and that their samples were also sent for genome sequencing to determine if they were infected with the Omicron variant.
While the department said results of 10 samples of visitors from not-at-risk countries came as Omicron positive on Monday, it did not reveal how many international arrivals from this category of countries landed in the city, either on Monday, or cumulatively.
Meanwhile, health minister T. Harish Rao on Monday instructed officials to gear up for ensuring full vaccination to all people against Covid, and the Omicron variant. Chairing a review meeting with senior health department officials on the Covid situation in the state, the minister also said plans must be made to administer Covid booster dose vaccines to the eligible people, and to launch the vaccination drive for 15 to 18-year-olds.
He said the state estimated that it would require some 70 lakh doses of Covid vaccines for meeting the demand from 22.78 lakh youth in the age group of 15 to 17 years in the state. There were 41.60 lakh people who were over 60 years, and an additional 6.34 lakh frontline and healthcare workers also were eligible to get the booster doses, the minister said. “Make preparations to administer vaccines from January 3 to the 15 to 18-year-olds, and from January 10 to those older than 60 years,” he told the officials.
Though the Covid situation in the state was under control, people must not get lackadaisical, and everyone must get vaccinated and follow safety precautions, he said.
