BHUBANESWAR: A day after a 75-year-old man tested positive for Covid-19, the Health and Family Welfare department on Thursday sent his sample for genome sequencing. This came amid a global uptick in the prevalence of a new sub-variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The elderly man, a city resident, had suffered from a cardiac arrest and then pneumonia, necessitating the test. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The last Covid case was reported in the state in October last year.
Official sources said the sample has been sent to the Regional Medical Research Centre, a unit of Indian Council of Medical Research, to ascertain whether the infection has been caused by an emerging variant or a previously circulating one.
The genome sequencing assumes significance in the backdrop of the WHO’s recent update listing LP.8.1 and XEC as the two SARS-CoV-2 variants currently under monitoring due to their increasing global prevalence.
Health secretary Aswathy S advised people to remain calm and not to panic. “There is no cause for alarm. The state government is maintaining strict vigilance and is fully prepared to handle any situation,” she said.