Omicron scare? 5 international travellers test Covid positive in Noida

Of these five persons who arrived in Gautam Buddh Nagar recently, three are from the United Kingdom, which is among the "at-risk" countries, and two from Singapore.

Pic courtesy: Pixabay

Gautam Budh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh): As the world continues to battle Omicron scare, at least five persons, who arrived in Gautam Budh Nagar recently from the United Kingdom, have tested positive for COVID19.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Gautam Budh Nagar Dr Sunil Sharma.While speaking to ANI, Dr Sunil Sharma, said, "Five persons, who arrived in GB Nagar recently from the United Kingdom, which is among the "at-risk" countries, and Singapore, have tested positive for COVID-19." Sharma added that so far, the GB Nagar administration has received a list of around 4,729 people who have returned from abroad, including 1,101 from "at-risk" nations.

Meanwhile, India has recorded 5,784 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in 571 days in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday (December 14). As many as 252 deaths and 7,995 recoveries have also been reported.

The five international travellers were admitted to Noida Covid Hospital in Sector 39. “All five patients are now in hospital and are being monitored. Their samples have been sent to National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi for genome sequencing to find the variant of the virus. Meanwhile, we are also tracing their contacts. We hope that people continue to behave as per law and trust the healthcare system,” said Dr Sunil Sharma, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, was quoted by the Hindustan Times. 

The five who tested positive reportedly included a couple in their 30s, along with their five-year-old son, who returned from the United Kingdom; a woman in her 30s and her daughter, aged five, who returned from Singapore. There was some drama involved when the two from Singapore left the hospital after feeling uncomfortable. This created panic among the administration. A team of police was reportedly sent and after some counselling and coercing, the duo returned to the hospital, as per media reports.

Meanwhile,  the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it expects an increase in the number of hospitalisations and fatalities related to the new Omicron coronavirus strain, reported Sputnik. "As case numbers linked to a variant of concern increase globally, we expect the number of hospitalized cases and even deaths to be reported," the WHO said in a statement.