Woman infected with new Covid variant in Rohtas

According to health officials, the woman who tested positive for the new variant had no travel history and was asymptomatic.

PATNA: Amid a spurt in cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country, a 27-year-old woman from Bihar’s Rohtas district tested positive for XBB 1.16, a new variant of Omicron, the first such case reported in the state, said health officials, as the number of active cases in the state, rose to 50 on Wednesday.

“This is the state’s first reported case of XBB 1.16, a new variant of coronavirus. We had informed the health department immediately after receiving the result,” said Dr. Manish Mandal, medical superintendent of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

According to health officials, the woman who tested positive for the new variant had no travel history and was asymptomatic. She had, however, come in contact with some relatives who had travelled from outside the state.

““Her sample was collected at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) on March 16 where she visited for some other medical condition and was sent for genome sequencing to the IGIMS, which in turn had sent it to a Hyderabad-based laboratory, as it did not have samples enough to run the test, given its financial implication,” said health officials. ,” said health officials.

As many as 13 cases were reported from Patna, three from Gaya and one from Khagaria are among the new Covid cases reported during the last 24 hours on Wednesday, said health officials.

Of the 50 active cases, 38 are from Patna, four from Gaya, two from East Champaran, and one each from Aurangabad, Khagaria, Kishanganj, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, and Sitamarhi, according to the state’s Covid-19 bulletin shared by the state health officials.

Covid-19 cases in the state have been steadily increasing over the last 10 days. The health department has also increased testing of samples. As many as 17 samples were found positive out of the 37,905 tested on Tuesday. On Monday, nine new cases were detected out of the 47,208 samples tested, said health officials.

Meanwhile, the health department had instructed all hospitals to be fully prepared to tackle any eventuality arising out of a possible surge of Covid-19 cases. They had also been told to keep beds earmarked for Covid patients and oxygen plants ready.

“There were a couple of Covid-19 patients who required hospitalisation some days back, but of the 50 active cases, we have no hospitalisation as yet,” said health officials.

The health department had also appealed to the people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks, as a precautionary measure.