BENGALURU: A traveller from South Africa, who landed in Bengaluru on Wednesday, tested positive for Covid-19 and his swab samples have been sent for genome sequencing to determine whether he is infected with the Omicron variant of the virus.
“Since he is from a high-risk country, the samples have been sent for genome sequencing and he has been kept in isolation. He has mild symptoms and is clinically out of danger,” BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta told The New Indian Express.
Health department officials said that his contacts at the airport and on the flight are being traced. “He was doubly vaccinated and had boarded the flight with a negative report. But when he landed in Bengaluru, he tested positive. Till the genome sequence report comes, the patient will be under strict observation,” a health official said.
Gupta said that the results of five other samples sent for genome sequencing are still awaited. “We have requested for the results by the weekend. Earlier, the results used to take two weeks, but now it takes one week,” he added.
The five samples sent are of the primary and secondary contacts of the 46-year-old doctor who was tested Omicron-positive. Apart from him, another traveller from South Africa, who flew off to Dubai before genome test results arrived, had tested positive for the variant, the government announced on Thursday.