Delhi’s IGI Airport reported that nearly 1 out of every 5 international travelers tested positive for the Omicron variant. Tests were being conducted by, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), which is one of the lead labs where genome sequencing to identify the Omicron variant is being carried out.

A senior scientist said that Omicron was three times more transmissible than the Delta variant. 15-20 samples were being sequenced per day at IGIB and nearly 20% were positive for the Omicron variant. In the last 20 days, this number has gone up to 57. 

A senior doctor at Lok Nayak hospital said that initially, the Omicron variant was limited to international travelers, but epidemiologists said that the sudden spike in Covid-19 cases over the past week hinted that it may have spread in the community also. 3 out of the 17 Omicron positive patients had no travel history. Delhi accounts for nearly 27% of the total 213 cases reported in the country.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, said that the reason behind the high number of cases in both Delhi and Mumbai may be due to the busiest airports where hundreds of international travellers arrived daily. Most of the Omicron patients were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. No steroids, antiviral drugs or oxygen therapy were administered to any of the patients. Data from the COVID Symptoms Study, conducted by a health science company called Zoe and King’s College, London stated that the top five symptoms for the Omicron infection included a runny nose, headache, fatigue (either mild or severe), sneezing and sore throat.

Source: ET Healthworld