Andhra Pradesh reported its second case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Wednesday, 10 days after the first case of the new strain surfaced in the state.
Public health director G Hymavathi said a 39-year-old woman, who returned from Kenya via Chennai on December 10 and travelled to Tirupati by car, has tested positive for the variant. “She underwent RT-PCR test for Covid-19 on reaching Tirupati and was found to be positive on December 12. Her sample was sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for genome sequencing and the result was declared as Omicron positive on Wednesday.”
Hymavathi said six members of the woman’s family tested negative. “She is healthy and in institutional quarantine under close observation.”
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The first Omicron case was reported in the state on December 12 after a 34-year-old man, who returned to his native Vizianagaram from Ireland in late November via Mumbai, tested positive for it. The man’s RT-PCR report at Mumbai earlier came negative. At Vizianagaram, he tested Covid-19 positive and subsequently for the Omicron variant. He has since recovered.
Hymavathi said so far samples of 45 foreign travellers and their nine contacts, who have tested positive for Covid-19, have been sent for genome sequencing. “There is no need for panic and we request the people not to believe any rumours. However, they should continue to take precautions.”