Omicron: 10 cases detected thus far in Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday informed that 10 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the capital city thus far. 40, of whom 38 are COVID-19 positive, have been admitted to the special facility at Lok Nayak Hospital for isolating and treating suspected cases of the new Covid variant, he added.

"A total of 10 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Delhi so far. One of them has been discharged," Jain said.

Several international travellers arriving at the Indira Gandhi International Airport are turning out Covid positive, he said. "Eight such people were admitted to the hospital today (Thursday)," he said.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Jain had said that the new variant has not spread in the community, and the situation is under control. The condition of Omicron-positive patients is stable, he added.

The first patient to be tested positive with the Omicron variant in Delhi was a 37-year-old man from Ranchi. He had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and then to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He was discharged on Monday after he tested negative for COVID-19 twice.

As per the new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for passengers arriving from 'at-risk' countries. They are allowed to leave the airport only after their results arrive. In case of passengers arriving from countries not identified as 'at-risk', RT-PCR tests are conducted on randomly selected two per cent of travellers.