Karnataka confirms 6 new cases of Omicron, traveller from UK among those infected

The 5 domestic cases were reported from two clusters in Dakshin Kannada, state health minister K Sudhakar said. The detection of fresh infections has pushed Karnataka's Omicron case count to 14.

Six new cases of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant were detected in Karnataka on Saturday, state health minister K Sudhakar informed in a tweet. With this, the total number of such cases in Karnataka has risen to 14.

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Of the fresh Omicron infections, five were found from two clusters, with two educational institutions in Dakshin Kannada reporting a cluster each, the minister informed. The sixth case, he said, was of a traveller who returned from the United Kingdom.

“Two cluster outbreaks of COVID have been reported from two educational institutions in Dakshin Kannada today: Cluster 1: 14 cases (of which 4 are Omicron, Cluster 2: 19 cases (1 is Omicron). A traveller from UK has also tested positive for #Omicron,” Sudhakar tweeted.

 

The UK is among more than a dozen countries on the Union health ministry's ‘at-risk’ countries for Omicron.

Among the new patients, the foreign returnee is an 18-year-old female, who arrived at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on December 10 and tested positive the same day, the Karnataka Health Department said. Double-jabbed with a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, she arrived with a negative RT-PCR report, the department further said.

All cluster cases were reported among girls as well. Among them, only one is vaccinated (fully inoculated with Covishield), while others have not even taken their first dose.

The southern state reported India's first two cases of Omicron as well. Since then, the nationwide infection tally has pushed beyond 100. Maharashtra, with 40 infections, is at the top, followed by Delhi (22) and Rajasthan (17), among others.