13 students test positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district
Himachal Pradesh on Sunday reported the state's first case of Omicron variant of Covid-19 after a woman with travel history to Canada was found infected with the new strain.
At least 13 students of a school in Himachal Pradesh tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday.
The report came two days after the Himalayan state registered its first case of Omicron variant of Covid-19 in a woman with travel history to Canada.
According to an ANI report, the infected children study in Bhakra Senior Secondary School in Bilaspur district. A senior doctor said the Covid-19 positive reports came after rapid antigen test (RAT) was conducted in the district. Of 16 samples that were sent for testing, as many as 13 were found to be positive, said medical officer Parminder Singh.
The woman, who tested positive for the Omicron variant in Himachal Pradesh, is aged 45 and had come back to India from Canada on December 3.
“The three RT-PCR (tests) of a close relative of the patient came negative,” Hemraj Bherwa, mission director of the National Rural Health Mission, told Hindustan Times.
At present, the Omicron-infected woman is isolating at her home in Mandi district. She was found infected with Covid-19 on December 12, and lab results from Delhi following genome sequencing of her test sample revealed Omicron variant's presence on December 18.
Meanwhile, one more Covid-19 positive sample of another foreign returnee in Himachal Pradesh was sent to Delhi for genome sequencing on Sunday.
Himachal Pradesh is among 21 states and Union territories (UTs) in India where Omicron cases have been confirmed so far, with Maharashtra (167) and Delhi (165) accounting for the majority of the infections. The nationwide tally has now surpassed the 600-mark.