A 20-year-old man hailing from Italy, who reached Chandigarh last month, has tested positive for the Omicron variant, said an official statement on Sunday.
It’s the first case of the variant in the Union Territory.
The person, who is fully vaccinated and a resident of Italy, landed in India on November 22 and came to Chandigarh to visit his relatives, said the Health Department.
“He was under home quarantine and was found COVID positive on re-testing on December 1. As per protocol, he was then put under institutional quarantine. His COVID positive sample was sent for whole genome sequencing to the National Centre for Diseases Control in New Delhi. His report was received late night on December 11, 2021 and has been found positive for the Omicron variant,” it said.
It said the person was tested again on Sunday and the RTPCR report is awaited. “If he is found to be negative, then he will be put under home quarantine for seven days and if positive, institutional quarantine will continue till he tests negative. His seven high risk family contacts were put under quarantine and were tested for COVID-19. All of them tested negative.”
The traveller has been asymptomatic throughout. He is fully vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine which he took in Italy.
The Health Department has appealed to everyone to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and those who have not taken the vaccine or have had only one dose should complete the process at the earliest.
