Imphal, Dec 27: Manipur reported its first case of Omicron, the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, State officials confirmed this afternoon.
"Omnicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in an international passenger coming from Tanzania to the State," said Director Dr K Rajo Singh of the State Health Services in a press release today.
"After testing positive for Covid-19 on RT-PCR on the 8th day of arrival in India, a sample was sent for whole genome sequencing to Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD),Takyelpat," he added.
The person is already on facility isolation in a government hospital in Imphal, Director Dr Rajo said.
Appealing to adhere to Covid appropriate behaviour and wear masks mandatorily as the Omnicron variant is spreading fast in various countries, he said, the masks have been found effective against variants of Covid 19.
According to the Directorate of Health Services, so far 480 international travellers have been under surveillance by the health officials. Out of the 480 international arrivals in Manipur, 174 have completed their 14 days of surveillance with all of them testing negative while the remaining 306 are under surveillance.
On Sunday, Manipur reported 17 new positive cases, registering a positivity rate of 2.39 per cent. The State has claimed a lone death case on Sunday. The active caseload now stands at 182.
