South Africa Returnee Tests Covid Positive In Maharashtra's Dombivali. Sample Sent To Check For Omicron

The officials said that it was not confirmed whether the person was infected with the Omicron variant, which has been designated as a variant of concern by the WHO. 

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New Delhi: A man who recently returned from South Africa was tested positive for coronavirus in Thane district’s Dombivali in Maharashtra, reported PTI. The information was given by Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation on Sunday. 

The officials said that it was not confirmed whether the person was infected with the Omicron variant, which has been designated as a variant of concern by the WHO. 

The report stated that the person had arrived in Dombivali from Cape Town on November 24. "He underwent a COVID-19 test which returned positive," the official said. 

Dr Pratibha Panpatil, Medical Officer at the KDMC said, “The man didn't come in contact with anyone after returning from South Africa.” The official told that the person is currently admitted in the Art Gallery isolation centre of the KDMC. "The KDMC health department is on alert. We are prepared to deal with the new variant," said Dr Panpatil. 

As per report by ANI, the patient’s brother had tested negative for Covid whereas the remaining family members will undergo testing today. 

To curb the potential spread of the omicron variant, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar had announced that all the passengers arriving in Mumbai from South Africa shall undergo quarantine. Their test samples would be sent for genome sequencing. 

“There are concerns in Mumbai regarding the new variant of Coronavirus. Genome sequencing of the samples of all passengers coming from South Africa will be conducted. There are no restrictions on the international flights. But this decision has been taken keeping in view the past experiences." the Mayor said.