New Delhi, December 24, 2021: Two more cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Andhra Pradesh, pushing the total number of such cases in the state to four, the Andhra Pradesh government said on Friday. Both persons, who gave positive test result, returned from abroad, it further said.
Providing details of the new patients, Dr G Hymavati, who heads the southern state’s Public Health Department said, “A 41-year-old Kuwait returnee, who is a resident of the East Godavari district, arrived at the Gannavarm airport on December 19. A day later, she tested positive for Covid-19. Her samples were sent to CCMB Hyderabad for genome sequencing. She was then found positive for Omicron. The health department has quarantined the patient, and put her under its close observation.”
The second patient, Dr Hymavati said, travelled from the UAE. “The man, who is a resident of Visakhapatnam, returned on December 15. He developed mild fever and was admitted to a private hospital. On December 16, he tested positive for Covid-19. Then, on Thursday, he was confirmed to be infected with Omicron,” the official said.
Dr Hymavati also said that the emergence of Omicron, Covid-19 has been detected in total 53 international flyers and nine contacts, adding that the respective samples have been sent for genome sequencing.
Andhra Pradesh reported its first case of Omicron on December 12, while the second was confirmed on December 22. While the first patient returned to his native city of Vizianagaram from Ireland via Mumbai, the second flew in from Kenya via Chennai and travelled to Tirupati.
Nationally, at least 358 cases of the fresh strain have been reported from across the country till now, the Union health ministry said on Friday. Maharashtra, which reported 23 infections on December 23 pushing its count to 88, is at the top, followed by Delhi, whose caseload stands at 67 according to the reports published in hindustantimes.com.
The emergence and spread of Omicron has also prompted state governments to reimpose restrictions ahead of the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
