Chennai:
Two international air travelers including a child from ‘at risk’ countries have tested positive for COVID-19 on their arrival in Tamil Nadu this morning. However, the state government has denied reports that they were Omicron cases.
State Health Minister Ma Subramaniam said the type of coronavirus would be identified only after the test results are out, as he urged social media users to pay attention to the “sensitive issue”.
“We will be transparent in announcing the results of the tests as it will only help in creating more public awareness against the pandemic,” news agency PTI quoted the minister as saying.
While one of the passengers came from Singapore, the child came with family from the UK, the minister said, adding that their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to identify the type of coronavirus they have been infected with.
Both the UK and Singapore are high risk countries.
“The passenger from Singapore reached Tiruchirappalli at 3.30 am (on Friday). He tested positive and was shifted to the local medical college, where he has been quarantined. His sample will undergo genome sequencing and we have it here for the purpose. There is a facility. However, it will also be sent to a lab in Bengaluru and only after the result will we know whether he is infected with Omicron or not.”
“He is only Covid positive so far,” the minister said without giving further details about the second case.
He said co-passengers and crew members seated in the front and rear rows of the flights in which the two traveled have also been tested.
Omicron has been designated ‘a form of concern’ by the World Health Organization, or WHO. It is thought to have over 50 mutations, including 30, on the spike protein, making it significantly more contagious than the delta variant.
India on Thursday reported its first two cases of the Omicron coronavirus disease, but the government said it had no immediate plans to authorize booster vaccine shots, despite demands from lawmakers.
With additional input from PTI
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