Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said that a total of 12 patients are suspected of carrying the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus so far in the national capital. He said that all have been admitted in the isolation ward of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. “There were total 12 suspected patients of Omicron till yesterday in Delhi. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing and the report will be out by today evening or tomorrow,” said Jain. Speaking about the new variant, he said, “more than expressing concern, it is the subject of caution and vigilance. We all need to be alert of this COVID variant”. He underlined that the global health body WHO has called it a variant of concern, but has not said that it will cause a major disaster.

Gujarat’s first Omicron case

Gujarat on Saturday registered its first Omicron case after a Zimbabwe resident, who arrived in Jamnagar, was found infected with COVID-19’s new mutant. The Nodal officer for Corona, GG Hospital, Jamnagar, Dr S Chatterjee said, “Samples of the 72-year-old Zimbabwe resident sent to Biotechnological Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad tested positive for Omicron. The patient is in isolation since his admission. We had traced all his close contacts, screened them and they tested negative. But we will conduct the test of all his contacts again.”