Maharashtra Reports First Omicron Variant Case; Man, Who Returned from South Africa, is Unvaccinated

A 33-year-old unvaccinated man from Maharashtra tested positive for the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, making this the state’s first such case and India’s fourth.

“The presence of the Omicron variant has been confirmed from laboratory investigation in a 33-year-old passenger, who arrived in Mumbai on November 24 from Cape Town, South Africa, through Dubai and Delhi. The passenger is the first patient with the Omicron variant in the state. This young passenger is a resident of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation and has not been vaccinated against Covid-19,” said the Maharashtra government in an official statement.

The statement also read that the passenger got mild fever on November 24, but no other symptoms were observed. This mildly symptomatic patient is being treated at the Covid Care Centre in Kalyan-Dombivli.

Officials said they had followed rigorous contact tracing procedure in this case. “Twelve of the passenger’s high-risk contacts and 23 low-risk contacts have been traced and all have tested negative for the virus. Additionally, 25 of his co-passengers on the Delhi-Mumbai flight have also tested negative. More contacts are being traced,” officials said.

The sample of a 60-year-old male passenger, who had arrived from Zambia, was sent for genomic sequencing to National Institute of Virology in Pune, but Omicron variant was not detected in it. Instead, a sub-lineage of the Delta variant was found in the sample.

Till Saturday morning, 3,839 passengers arriving from at-risk countries were screened through RT-PCR test for the Omicron variant at the Mumbai international airport. Out of 17,107 passengers arriving from other countries, 344 have been tested.

“Since December 1, eight passengers have tested Covid positive and their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing. Additionally, field surveillance of all international passengers who have arrived since November 1 is underway,” officials said.

The state government has now appealed to people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. “Genetic changes/mutation in viruses is a natural phenomenon and people should not panic. The public health department appeals to citizens that they follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and inform health authorities if they have international travel history in the last month. Those who have not taken Covid-19 vaccine or have taken only one dose should complete their vaccination at the earliest,” an official press release stated.

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