Covid-19: Navi Mumbai woman has Omicron BQ.1.1 variant

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Omicron's BQ.1.1 sub-variant has been reported for the first time in the state. A 25-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai has been found to be infected with the variant, which led to a surge of Covid cases in the US. The woman was asymptomatic and recovered in home isolation. However, experts said one needs to be vigilant as it's not clear how the virus will behave.

After the surge in Covid cases in many countries, the Government of India decided to start random testing of two per cent flyers. Since December 24, at Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur airports, a total of 22,9767 passengers have arrived, out of which 5,071 were tested for RT-PCR. Eleven were found positive and samples were sent for genome sequencing.

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As per the BMC health department, out of the 11 positive patients, nine landed at Mumbai airport in which two passengers are found infected with BQ.1.1 sub-variant. One of the passengers is a resident of Goa, while the other is a resident of Navi Mumbai.

She arrived on December 28 from Zurich, Switzerland. Executive Health Officer Dr Mangla Gomare said, "There is no need to panic as the above passenger was asymptomatic on arrival and tested as per two per cent random testing protocol. We have informed the respective local authorities too. She was guided to stay in isolation." According to reports in the US, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 is in circulation and nearly accounted for 70 per cent of the cases replacing the BA.5 sub-variant, dominant till summer.