THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first Omicron case in the state was reported in Ernakulam and the patient is a person who came from the UK and had landed in Cochin international airport on December 6. He had come here via Abu Dhabi.
He had tested negative for the virus when he reached the airport along with his wife. However, he developed symptoms later and then took a test and the result came back as positive. His sample was then sent for genome sequencing at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram. The lab confirmed that the traveller tested positive for the new variant of Coronavirus.
His wife has also tested positive for Covid-19 and his local contact in Ernakulam, who is his mother, tested positive now. All three people have been moved to isolation. The driver of the car, which he hired from the airport, was also moved for further observation. The condition of all positive people are stable and they are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
He had come to Kochi by Etihad Airways (EY 280) and there were 149 other passengers on that flight. However, passengers who might have come into close contact with him are those who were seated between seat numbers 26 and 32. Since they will come under the high-risk category, all of them will have to be tested with immediate effect. All these passengers have been identified.
State health minister Veena George said that all necessary precautionary measures are being taken as per the guidelines issued by the Centre and the contact list of the people who have come into contact with this positive person has been readied. Steps have been taken to prevent any kind of spread here, she said.
