Odisha reports first cases of Omicron as new variant infects over 200 in India

The two Omicron-infected patients are aged 41 and 43, and belong to Jagatsingpur and Khordha districts. One of them is asymptomatic while the other has a mild cough

Updated on: Dec 22, 2021, 06:08:34 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, BHUBANESWAR

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Odisha on Tuesday reported the first cases of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus after two men, who recently returned from Nigeria and Qatar, tested positive for the new strain. The development came on a day when the total number of Omicron cases in India touched 200.

Ajay Parida, the director of Bhubaneswar’s Institute of Life Sciences, said during the genome sequencing of seven samples tested for Covid-19, two came positive for the Omicron variant. He added the reports of five other samples were awaited.

The two Omicron-infected patients are aged 41 and 43 and belong to Jagatsingpur and Khordha districts. One of them is asymptomatic while the other has a mild cough.

“Contact tracing of 21 persons, who were in touch with these two have been done and samples have been sent for testing,” said director, public health, Niranjan Mishra. Odisha has made it mandatory for anyone testing positive for Omicron to be hospitalised.

Around 8,800 passengers have arrived in Odisha this month. Of them, around 1,600 came from countries declared at-risk following the detection of the Omicron variant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More