10 South African nationals' missing worries K'taka Govt amid Omicron scare

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Health department, which is on high alert after the detection of the country's first Omicron infection in Bengaluru, is now worried about over 10 South African nationals who have gone missing.

As per sources, the missing South African nationals had arrived in Bengaluru between November 12 and 22.

Sources have revealed that the Health Department, which is on high alert after the detection of Omicron cases, wants to get these persons tested, but they have gone missing.

The officials said that the persons were not found at the addresses given by them at the airport and their mobile phones were switched off. As many as 57 persons had arrived from high-risk countries.

The health department has already approached the police department to track and trace these persons. The department is planning to send all samples to genomic sequencing tests to get clarity on the presence of the Omicron virus.

Sources said that the stringent measures at the airport were initiated from November 22 onwards and these ten persons had arrived in Bengaluru before that.

When asked about this, Gaurav Gupta, the Chief Commissioner, stated that he doesn't have any direct information regarding the matter. "I can say that contact tracing is a continuous process and if they are not found, there are standard protocols to deal with the situation. We are prepared to tackle any situation."

Gaurav Gupta also hinted at the initiation of restrictions after the high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.