Omicron has been detected in a 24-year-old woman from Kenya and 23-year-old man from Somalia who came to Hyderabad in December.
Both were known to be residing in Hyderabad. State's Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao said on December 15 that the woman was sent to the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences, Gachibowli. The man is being traced. Their genome sequencing results were received on December 14 night.
Though the passengers are not from risk countries, their samples were collected after they landed in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad.
After the two were found positive for COVID-19, samples were sent for genome sequencing and they were sent to home isolation, said Dr. Rao.
The woman’s health condition is normal. Two of her close contacts were identified and they will undergo a RT-PCR test. The senior official said that the man would be traced soon.
Reiterating that COVID-19 cases were estimated to surge in mid-January or in February, Dr. Rao said that regardless of the variant, lockdown would not be imposed in the State.
A seven-year-old boy who came in an international flight to RGIA too has tested positive for Omicron. But he left to Kolkata in a domestic flight without entering Hyderabad. The West Bengal Health Department has been informed of it.
