Six fresh cases of Omicron variant suspected in TN

Six fresh cases of Omicron variant suspected in TN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:17.12.2021

Test samples of at least six more patients, suspected to be carrying the Omicron variant, were sent by Tamil Nadu to whole genome sequencing labs in Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune on Thursday.

A 38-year-old woman, who returned to India on December 12 from the Republic of Congo via Chennai, tested positive for Covid-19 in her hometown in Tiruvannamalai district two days later, health officials said here on Thursday.

During the RTPCR test, scientists noticed the S-gene dropout – an indicator that she could be carrying the Omicron variant. She is admitted to the government medical college hospital in Tiruvannamalai, and her health condition is stable, health secretary J Radhakrishnan said.

By evening, four family contacts of the Covid-19 patient, who took the Doha flight to Chennai, tested positive for Covid-19. With this, at least two passengers who travelled on the flight and 10 of their contacts have tested positive for the viral infection so far. The public health department says there was S-gene dropout in all patients who tested positive.

A 47-year-old passenger, who returned from Nigeria via Doha, tested positive at the airport on December 10. Five days later, National Institute of Virology confirmed he was carrying the Omicron variant. The genomic test reports of all other patients are still awaited. “We have alerted all passengers on the flight to contact health authorities or seek medical attention even if they have mild symptoms,” Radhakrishnan said.

In addition, another patient, who travelled from South Africa, tested positive eight days after she travelled. Since South Africa is listed as a country at risk, patients are allowed to leave the airport only after they test negative. A repeat RTPCR is done eight days later. While officials are yet to confirm if they suspect Omicron variant, the patient has been isolated for treatment at the Government Covid Hospital in Guindy. Her tests samples were also sent to the genomic labs.

State public health staff and infectious diseases experts are now asking the state to expand the list of “at risk” countries or make testing mandatory for all international passengers. “The state has to create separate facilities for passengers so there is no further community spread,” said a senior government doctor. “Passenger travelling from other countries are not mandated to wait at the airport till results come in. While we track and test most close contacts, this can become complex if we continue to passengers go without negative RTPCR report,” he said.

627 new cases

Tamil Nadu reported 627 new Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths on Thursday with Chennai (124) and Coimbatore (104) continuing to record the highest number of new cases.

At the end of the day, 687 people were discharged from Covid registry leaving 7,476 people still under treatment for the viral infection. The cumulative case tally since March 2020 touched 27.37 lakh and the death toll reached 36,656.