Kolkata: A seven-year-old boy from Bengal, who has arrived in Kolkata on December 11 (last Saturday) from Abu Dhabi through Hyderabad, the Omicron positive was tested, making it the first variant confirmed in the country.
The boy, from Faraakka in Murshidabad, did not show symptoms and stable.
He is now in an insulation environment at Malda Medical College, said State Health Department official.
Near contacts – including his parents and siblings, with whom he traveled – had also been decided on isolation and their samples were sent for RT-PCR tests.
The government has asked all the government managed hospitals to be ready for omicron cases.
Private hospitals in Kolkata have also prepared to meet the challenges.
Most have improved their filtering process and at least one has arranged an Omicron unit.
Health officials said the boy’s swab samples were collected at Hyderabad airport itself; It was sent for sequencing genomes to Telangana after he tested positive.
They added it was not clear why he was allowed to take a flight to Kolkata even after he tested positive.
Also not immediately clear whether those who accompanied the boy were tested in Hyderabad after the results were positive.
27 37 co-passengers contacted by the family have told health officials that they received a swab sample from the boy and his sister was tested in a private laboratory in Malda on December 12, and the two reports posed negative results.
Swab samples will be tested in government laboratories again.
The source in the health department said they could call 27 of 37 co-passengers from the domestic legs of boys and their family trips.
None of them showed any symptoms.
10 others cannot be contacted or not responding.
They are still pursued, the source added.
“Contact search has been done today and samples are collected from children, their sisters, father, mother and grandmother,” The state director confirmed for Ajay Chakraborty health services, added, “if found positive, the sample will be sent to the mission of the genome.
All home contacts Other stairs have been suggested to strictly stick to house isolation.
All have been asked to be isolation and retested on the eighth day.
Of the 27 contacted, 16 belongs to Bengal.
There is a passenger from Bengaluru, four of Hyderabad, three of Manipur, one from Meghalaya and one from Mizoram, “Chakraborty said.
This list has been distributed with an integrated disease surveillance program (IDSP), New Delhi, to share with the countries concerned.
A spoker for the domestic airline boy and his family took from Hyderabad to Kolkata said they did everything they could to help trace their co-passenger passengers.
Chairman of the Minister of Mamata Banerjee confirmed the news.
“Now, there is an omicron in the state.
Someone who has reached Hyderabad from Abu Dhabi has been detected.
The problem is that while only one individual has been identified, the flight has other passengers, who need to be tracked,” he said.
Banerjee added that Omicron is harmless, but basic security measures must exist.
“Sometimes, there are no symptoms.
His death is low.
But it spreads faster.
So, please continue using a mask.
Those who have taken the first dose of vaccines, please go to the nearest health center to take the second dose lying there for you,” he said.