4 more Omicron cases detected in Delhi: Health Minister Satyendar Jain

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Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said four more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the city and all have travel history to foreign countries.

The Omicron variant has not spread in the community so far and the situation is under control, he added.

"So far, six people have been found Omicron-positive in the capital. One of them has been discharged. All of them had travelled to foreign countries and were transferred to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital from the (Indira Gandhi International) airport," Jain told reporters.

The condition of the remaining five Omicron-positive patients is stable, he said.

So far, 74 travellers have been sent from the airport to the hospital, where a special ward has been set up for isolating and treating suspected cases of Omicron.

Thirty-six of them have been discharged from the hospital.

Also read: Serum Institute working to develop Covid-19 vaccine booster shot which is effective against Omicron: Poonawala

Jain said the Delhi government is fully prepared to tackle the spread of any variant of coronavirus.

He said a buffer stock of 32 types of medicines is being created to treat Covid-infected patients.

"All necessary steps are being taken to stop the spread of the new Omicron variant. The Delhi government is keeping a sharp eye on the new cases and contacts of Omicron-infected patients are being traced," a statement quoted Jain as saying.

Delhi's first Omicron patient, a 37-year-old man from Ranchi, was discharged on Monday after he tested negative for COVID-19 twice, officials said.

He had travelled from Tanzania to Delhi via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg in South Africa for a week and had mild symptoms.

Under the Centre's new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for passengers arriving from the "at-risk" countries and they can only leave the airport only after the results come.

Also, two per cent of the passengers arriving on flights from other countries are being tested randomly.

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