Four passengers from Europe test COVID-19 positive in Delhi amid rising Omicron fear

The fear of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has further strengthened in India as four people travelling from Europe have tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Delhi, according to the authorities present at the airport.

According to PTI reports, four people who flew into Delhi from the Netherlands and the UK in the early hours of Wednesday (December 1) have tested positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain if they have the new variant, Omicron, sources said. All four have been admitted to the LNJP Hospital, where a dedicated ward has been set up for isolating and treating such patients, they added.

"Four flights originating from Amsterdam and London and carrying 1,013 passengers landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport between 12 nights and 6 am. Of these passengers, four have tested positive," a source said.

Three patients travelled on a flight from Amsterdam that carried a total of 372 people. The fourth patient travelled with 176 others on a flight from London. All four are Indian nationals, he added.

A source at the LNJP Hospital said two more travellers who "tested negative but have Covid-like symptoms" have been brought to the hospital. "A total of six patients are in the hospital at present," the source said.

According to the Centre, the countries designated as "at-risk" are European countries, including the UK, and South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

Travellers from these "at-risk" countries are following additional measures on arrival in India from Tuesday midnight. Under the new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for passengers arriving from the "at-risk" countries and they will be allowed to leave the airport only after the results come. Also, five per cent of the passengers arriving in flights from other countries will be subject to the test randomly.