Three cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar city have tested negative for Covid-19 and been discharged from a hospital in the city, an official told news agency PTI on Friday.
A Zimbabwe based non-resident Indian (NRI) aged 72, his wife and brother-in-law, who were found infected with Omicron earlier this month, were the first three patients of the variant in Gujarat.
"All the three Omicron patients have recovered from the infection. Their latest Covid-19 tests gave negative results, following which the trio was given a discharge from the hospital. The Omicron ward is now empty," Dr Saugata Chatterjee, nodal officer for Covid-19 at the G G Hospital in Jamnagar, told PTI on Friday.
The 72-year-old man from Zimbabwe arrived in Jamnagar on November 28 and was diagnosed with a fever soon after. Upon being asked by his doctor to undergo an RT-PCR test, the man was found to be infected with Omicron on December 4, the first such case in Gujarat.
The man was already vaccinated with both doses of a Chinese vaccine. On December 6, his wife, who also arrived in Jamnagar from Zimbabwe and his brother-in-law who lives in Gujarat city, tested positive for Covid-19.
{{/usCountry}}The man was already vaccinated with both doses of a Chinese vaccine. On December 6, his wife, who also arrived in Jamnagar from Zimbabwe and his brother-in-law who lives in Gujarat city, tested positive for Covid-19.
{{/usCountry}}On December 10, the genome sequencing revealed the wife and the brother-in-law were also infected with the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa.
With the recovery of these three patients, the Omicron count in Gujarat has dropped to two. The two cases are from Surat and Mehsana.
Meanwhile, the total number of Omicron patients in India is nearing 100 with the addition of 10 such patients from the national capital Delhi.
According to Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, the total cases of the variant in the Capital have climbed to 20. Delhi has now surpassed Rajasthan to be the second most affected state from Omicron after Maharashtra, which has 32 cases.
(With PTI inputs)