Omicron In Karnataka: Days after 2 Omicron cases were detected in Bengaluru — the first in the country, tracking 10 South African nationals continue to be one of the biggest challenges for the Karnataka health department authorities. Passengers arriving in the state will not be allowed to leave the airport until their report is out, said state Revenue Minister R Ashoka, adding that the authorities are trying to trace all missing by midnight. “It has come out in the media that ten people are untraceable. Officials have been directed to look into it, trace them by tonight and get them tested”, said R Ashoka, while responding to a question that 10 South African travellers have gone untraceable.
Stating that he has no official information about it, Health Minister K Sudhakar said that in case they have not been traced, the police are efficient enough to find them, as in the past. “But my appeal is that no one should switch off their mobiles and go untraceable. It is not the right way. They should behave responsibly.”
Omicron Patient Escaped
The Karnataka government said that one of the two men found positive for the new variant of coronavirus ‘escaped’ after taking a Covid negative certificate from a private lab. Speaking to reporters, state Revenue Minister R Ashok asserted that a 66-year-old South African national, who arrived in Bengaluru on November 20, had tested Omicron-infected. He had been staying at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru. On November 23, he obtained a negative test report from a private lab, after which he ‘fled’ to South Africa.
Speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Minister Ashoka said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner has been directed to file a case at the city’s High Ground Police Station in this regard. “Two reports- one positive and one negative- is doubtful. So the lab must be investigated. So we have asked the police commissioner to investigate immediately in coordination with the health department,” Ashoka added.
Earlier on Thursday, officials said that the South African national had come to Bengaluru on November 20 and his samples were collected at the airport and subsequently he tested positive. His samples were then sent for genome sequencing, the reports of which came on Thursday, confirming he was infected by Omicron. Further noting that the person was isolated in a hotel, and subsequently underwent a test separately (self-investigation) at another laboratory (private lab on Nov 23), during which his reports came out negative, they had said he then left for Dubai on November 27 and all his 24 primary contacts and 240 secondary contacts had tested negative.
COVID Cases Witnesses Rise in Karnataka
Meanwhile, Karnataka logged 413 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths on Friday, taking the total number of infections to 29,97,246 and the toll to 38,220.
Bengaluru Urban continued to top the list of cases (212), as the city saw 185 discharges and two deaths. The total number of active cases in the state is now 6,896. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.39 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 0.96 per cent.
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 212, Mysuru 45, Shivamogga 33, Tumakuru 30, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district headed the list of positive cases with a total of 12,57,035, followed by Mysuru 1,79,882 and Tumakuru 1,21,137.
