Omicron community transmission in Delhi? Health minister says THIS

With cases of COVID-19 and Omicron rising rapidly, Delhi state Health Minister Satyendar Jain has noted key data that may indicate community transmission of the new variant of concern in the national capital.

Jain said on Thursday (December 30) that 46% of the samples recently sent for genome sequencing returned results confirming they were infected with the Omicron variant. The health minister also observed that people with no history of travel are becoming infected with Omicron, which means it is spreading in the community.

“The latest genome sequencing report showed 46 per cent of the samples have Omicron. These people include those who do not have any travel history. It means Omicron is now in Delhi,” Jain was quoted by news agency PTI.

“Indeed, the variant is gradually spreading in the community,” he added.

The minister further said that only 102 of the 200 cases of COVID-19 hospitalisation in Delhi belong to the city. Of these, 115 are asymptomatic but have been keep in the hospital as a precaution, he added.  

Another worrying phenomenon noted was that international travellers are found COVID-19 positive a few days later after having tested negative upon arrival at the airport. Such persons unknowingly infect their family members during this time.

The “Yellow Alert” imposed in Delhi as part of the government’s Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will continue for the time being as the authorities monitor the situation to decide if new curbs need to be brought in, DDMA said yesterday.