Omicron scare: Second case found in Delhi, man travelling from South Africa found infected

A 35-year-old man, with travel history to Zimbabwe and South Africa, has tested positive for Omicron, becoming the second patient in Delhi of the new COVID-19 variant, sources said on Saturday. He is admitted at the LNJP Hospital and only has weakness, they added. He returned to India from Zimbabwe and had even travelled to South Africa, the sources said, adding that he is fully vaccinated.

The LNJP Hospital has been designated for treatment of patients infected with the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. On Sunday, a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who arrived in Delhi from Tanzania, became the first patient of Omicron in the national capital.

The patient, a resident of Ranchi, had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg, South Africa, for a week. The person has mild symptoms.

In India till now, 33 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported. Maharashtra has 17, Rajasthan has nine, Gujarat has three, Karnataka has two, and Delhi has two.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, had earlier asked citizens to strictly adhere to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour in order to prevent an increase in cases, as seen in many European countries amid the emergence of Omicron.

Officials warned about the declining trend of wearing masks, citing a recent World Health Organization (WHO) analysis that found that compliance with public health and social measures is declining with an increase in vaccination rate.

Meanwile, an expert said that according to data on the new SARS-CoV2 variant which is still emerging, the very high rate of ‘seropositivity’ should keep the country in good stead even as he emphasised on increased vaccination coverage and adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour.

“Because, India has the advantage of very high rate of ‘seropositivity’ of 70, 80 per cent, and in big cities more than 90 per cent people already have antibodies,” Rakesh Mishra, former Director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here, told PTI.

In view of the protection available to people, even if they get infected, it will be very mild and most of the time asymptomatic, Mishra, currently Director, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bangalore, said.

It would help the cause in a big way if vaccination coverage is further expanded and if vaccines for children are rolled out, he noted.