Central and state governments remain on high alert over the Omicron threat, a day after India received its first two cases of the coronavirus variant that raised an alarm button around the world.
India reported its first cases of the Omicron variant on Thursday, both of which were reported from Karnataka. While one of the patients is a returnees from South Africa who managed to leave India on November 27, the other is a health worker in Bengaluru.
ALSO READ: South African returnees among two Omicron cases discovered in India
The first Omicron patient sent the Karnataka government excited, prompting officials to order an investigation into the test reports of the 66-year-old South African national allowing him to leave the country.
Meanwhile, the center said on Friday it anticipates the severity of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the country will be low, given the rapid rate of vaccination and high exposure to the Delta variant.
What is happening to Covid in India | Top developments
1. India reports 9,216 new Covid-19 cases, 391 deaths in 24 hours
India registered 9,216 new Covid-19 cases and 391 deaths in a 24-hour period on Friday. The number of new cases in India was 5.6 percent lower on Friday than on Thursday.
The cumulative number of cases in the country is now 3.46.15.757. The total number of reported deaths is 470,115.
ALSO READ | Maharashtra revises quarantine norms, RT-PCR mandatory for passengers arriving from 3 “high-risk countries”
Currently India’s active case count is 99,976. Active cases have increased by 213 in the past 24 hours.
The recovery rate in the country is 98.35 percent. In the past 24 hours, a total of 8,612 patients recovered for a total recovery of 3,40,45,666 across the country.
2. Karnataka Government Says First Omicron Patient “Escaped”; Search for 10 more missing passengers
The Karnataka government said Friday the first Omicron patient “fled” the state. The state government announced on Thursday that the patient had submitted a negative Covid test report from a private laboratory.
The Ministry of Health announced on Thursday the first cases of Omicron varient in India, both from Karnataka.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Government Says First Omicron Patient “Escaped”; Search for 10 more missing passengers
Karnataka Finance Minister R. Ashok said, “We filed a complaint with the High Grounds Police to understand what went wrong at the Shangri-La Hotel, that the person escaped.”
The minister said the state government is also trying to track down and test all 10 people who were missing at the airport. “By tonight, all 10 people who were allegedly missing should be tracked down and tested,” added the minister.
The first patient, a 66-year-old, came to the state from South Africa on November 20 and left India seven days later, the government of Karnataka announced.
3. The center assumes that the severity of the Omicron variant of Covid in India is low
The center said Friday it anticipates the severity of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the country will be low, given the rapid rate of vaccination and high exposure to the Delta variant.
However, the Department of Health said the scientific evidence of the expected severity of the disease is still developing as debates about the booster vaccinations intensify and several states step up testing and monitoring of the potentially more contagious variant.
ALSO READ: 46-year-old, found positive with Omicron variant in Karnataka, had no travel history
The ministry also noted that there is no evidence that existing vaccines will not work with the new variant that South Africa reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 24.
In the Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said RT-PCR tests were carried out on 16,000 passengers from “risk countries”, 18 of whom tested positive for Covid-19. The number of positive cases is expected to be just over 18, according to reports from the states.
In response to an 11-hour debate on the Covid-19 pandemic, he said swab samples from affected passengers had been sent for genome sequencing to look for the Omicron variant of the virus.
4. The center publishes FAQs on Omicron and says there is no evidence that existing vaccines do not work
The Ministry of Health said while there is no evidence that existing vaccines against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 will not work, some of the mutations reported could make the vaccinations less effective.
However, the ministry underlined that definitive evidence of the increased remission and immune evasion of the new variant is awaited.
The ministry has issued a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which the WHO has classified as a “variant of concern” (VoC). Two cases of the new variant were reported in Karnataka on Thursday.
ALSO READ: Omicron enters India; Government Says Don’t Panic, Asks Public Not To Let Up | 10 facts
In the list of FAQs, the ministry said whether existing vaccines are effective against the Omicron variant: “Although there is no evidence that existing vaccines will not work with Omicron, some of the mutations that have been reported for the spike gene may the effectiveness of existing vaccines. “
However, vaccination protection is also provided by antibodies, as well as cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved. Hence, it is expected that vaccines will still protect against serious illness and vaccination is vital. If you are eligible you should be vaccinated, it said.
5. After India confirmed Omicron cases, WHO is calling for response measures to be stepped up in Southeast Asia
When India confirmed two cases of Omicron, the World Health Organization said on Friday that countries in the Southeast Asia region should further step up response measures to Covid-19 to contain the spread of the virus and its variants. “Increasing surveillance to quickly detect the introduction of new variants and the transmission of existing viruses and their variants, the implementation of calibrated public health and social measures and increasing the vaccination rate should remain our focus,” said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of the WHO Region Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
Within a week of Omicron’s announcement as a new worrying variant, India confirmed the variant on Thursday in two people diagnosed with Covid-19, the first few cases in the WHO’s Southeast Asia region.
Studies will be conducted to assess Omicron’s portability, severity, risk of reinfection, immune response potential, clinical presentation, response to other available countermeasures, etc.
Preliminary evidence suggests higher transmissibility and potential immune defenses, which in cases could lead to an increase. Regardless of the change in severity, just an increase in cases can create an overwhelming demand on health systems and lead to increased morbidity and mortality, she said.
The Regional Director said that, as part of enhanced surveillance, countries need to ensure that they have early warning systems in place that consist of several indicators, such as:
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