Panaji: A eight-year-old boy, who came to Goa with his father from England about eleven days ago, has been found infected with Omicron Covid variant, Director of Health Services Dr.
Ira Almeida said.
The boy is now the first case of Omicron in the state.
The boy and his father were in isolation at the state-run facility in South Goa, Almeida told TII.
Even though the father tested the negative for the Omicron variant, the sample would be retested, the doctor said.
The condition of the boy is stable, he added.
Meanwhile, the report of a 13-year-old man whose sample was tested for Omicron came negatively, but reports more people wait.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the government would take steps in accordance with the Indian government protocol.
“The strict steps needed will be taken by the Goa Government in the public interest based on the suggestions provided by the Expert Committee,” he said.
All tourists from high-risk countries were tested on arrival at Goa International Airport, and samples from those who tested positive Covid were sent to sequencing genomes to laboratories outside the state.
Tourists who test negatively for the Omicron variant are allowed to leave isolation facilities, but need to be in the quarantine at home for the specified period.
All tourists who come from high-risk countries must be in quarantine for 14 days even if they test the negative for Covid-19 on arrival.
On the eighth day, a traveler made under the Covid exam, and if negative, he must monitor himself.
While throughout the month the daily count of the cave from Covid-19 infection is below 50 signs, marginal increases are recorded on Friday and Saturday.
Almeida said they would intensify contact contacts to contain the spread of viruses that might remember scare omicron.
“Because we found positive cases among travelers, contact contacts have become very important,” he added added that health services had also tried to increase testing.
“Usually, of the total tests conducted for that day, 50% of the samples were taken from the local population, and the rest of the travelers who came to Goa,” he said.
Health services, he said, have noticed the decline in tourist testing.
“We don’t know why it happened, but we will write a letter to the district collectors to see that testing on border checks is true.
We will also sharpen the contacts at our end,” the director said.