Covid-19: India's first two cases of Omicron variant detected in Karnataka
New Delhi/IBNS: Two Covid-19 cases of Omicron variant have been detected for the first time in India on Thursday, the Union health ministry said.
Two people, both men, aged 66 and 46, have been infected by the new variant of coronavirus that has triggered a global alarm.
While giving the information, the health ministry's joint secretary Lav Agarwal told a news briefing that both the case were detected in Karnataka.
The identity of the infected patients will not be revealed to protect their privacy, he added.
All the contacts of both the patients have been traced and they are being tested, he said.
"There is no need to panic about the Omicron detection but awareness is absolutely essential. Follow Coivd-appropriate behaviour, avoid gatherings," Agarwal said.
The Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa is likely to be more contagious than Delta, scientists in Sout Africa said, where a doctor flagged the possibility of the new variant when she found symptoms different from Delta in the Covid-19 patients she examined.
Scientists have also said it will take at least four months to understand if Omicron can make people sicker than the Delta variant of coronavirus.
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