Omicron Covid Variant Live Updates: A 33-year-old man who returned from South Africa’s Cape Town to Maharashtra’s Mumbai via Dubai and Delhi has tested positive for Omicron variant of coronavirus. The passenger is a resident of Kalyan-Dombivli municipal area and has not taken the Covid-19 vaccine. Twelve of the passenger’s high-risk contacts and 23 of the low-risk contacts have been traced, and all have tested negative for Covid-19. Additionally, 25 of the co-passengers from the Delhi-Mumbai flight have also tested negative. More contacts are currently being traced.
This is the fourth Omicron case to be detected in India. Earlier in the day, a 71-year- old NRI, who landed in Gujarat’s Jamnagar city from Zimbabwe was found to be infected with the Omicron variant, according to the nodal officer of Covid-19 in the city. Two samples of the patient were sent — one to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Center, which detected the presence of the Omicron variant, and another to NIV Pune. The whole genome sequencing report from NIV is expected on Monday.
Two people in Karnataka — a 46-year-old doctor and a 66-year-old South African national — were found to be infected with the new variant.
In other news, the Center has said that it anticipates the severity of the Omicron variant of coronavirus to be low in the country, given the fast pace of vaccination and high exposure to the Delta variant. Speaking in the Parliament, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday highlighted that a decision on booster dose and Covid jabs for children will be taken on the basis of scientific guidance from experts.
Explained: What we know so far about the Omicron variant of Covid-19
A new Covid-19 variant has been identified in South Africa. What's different about the Omicron variant of Covid-19? Are the symptoms different? What precautions should one take? What has the WHO said?
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, currently circulating in South Africa, as a ‘variant of concern’. It also named it Omicron.
The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) had identified the variant on Monday. It had detected a group of related SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which belong to a lineage named B.1.1.529.
Early indications are that this variant is possibly even more transmissible than the highly infectious Delta variant, and that current vaccines may be less effective against it.
What we do know so far about Omicron?
New variants continue to emerge as SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and the significance of each mutation becomes known after a period of time. But health authorities worldwide need to keep a constant watch to identify which ones are more important than others. It was as part of such an exercise that the NGS-SA detected B.1.1.529.
Explained: What is the Delta variant of Covid-19, and why it is a cause for concern?
Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally. One of these is the B.1.617 lineage, detected in India earlier this year. What is the Delta variant of Covid-19, and what makes it a variant of concern?
In its latest risk assessment for SARS-C0V-2 variants, Public Health England (PHE) has said a staggering 61% of the samples sequenced are now of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2). This means the Delta variant, first detected in India, is more dominant in the UK than the Alpha variant that had last year triggered a surge in the UK.
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