COVID: First Omicron case in Delhi after Tanzania returnee tests positive; 5th in India

New Delhi: National capital Delhi has reported its first case of Omicron variant in a 37-year-old man who had recently travelled to Tanzania and tested positive with COVID-19, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed on Sunday.

The patient was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital which has been designated as the nodal facility by the Delhi government for those found infected with the Omicron variant.

Speaking to reporters, Jain said that the patient had returned to Delhi on December 2 and is suffering from mild symptoms.

Officials informed that the patient had undergone COVID-19 testing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport where he was found positive. Later, he was shifted to the hospital and his sample was sent to an INSACOG laboratory in Delhi, they added.

"His genome sequencing report which came today confirmed the presence of Omicron," a senior official said.

The officials also said that around 17 passengers who have travelled to the Centre's designated "at risk" countries have been admitted to the Lok Nayak Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.

With the addition of this solitary case, the tally of Omicron cases in the country has now reached five so far. Delhi is the third location to have reported the new variant, which was first found in South Africa. The first two Omicron cases were reported from Bengaluru. The third was from Gujarat's Jamnagar and the fourth was from Dombivali, Maharashtra. (UNI)