Manipur reported its first case of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 on Monday. A returnee from Tanzania tested positive and genome sequencing was confirmed for the variant. As par Manipur Health department, genome sequencing results of three members of his family who also tested positive for COVID-19 are awaited.

The 48-year-old Tanzania returnee from Imphal West district is the first person in the northeastern region detected with the Omicron variant.

In a press conference here on Monday, the director of the Manipur Health department, Dr K Rajo said that the patient returned to India on December 12 last and reached Imphal on the next day. His swab sample was sent for COVID-19 test on December 20, following which his sample was sent for genome sequencing to the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) Takyelpat in Imphal the next day. The result was received Monday with Omicron positive, the Health director further said.

As soon as the results were received he was shifted to a special isolation ward at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal. The patient was vaccinated against COVID-19 and is in good health condition. As of now, Dr. Rajo informed that the patient is not showing symptoms of the viral disease till now.

The three members of his family who were also tested positive for COVID-19 were sent for genome sequencing. The results are expected at the earliest, and that the three persons have also been shifted to an isolation center at RD Wing of the Directorate of Health Service, informed the Health director.

Till date as many as 480 individuals have arrived in Manipur from foreign countries since the Government of India took measures to check the spread of  Omicron. 306 individuals are currently under surveillance.

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