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Gujarat reports first case of Omicron; third confirmed case in India

A person who arrived in the state from Zimbabwe was tested positive for the new variant. 

Gujarat reports first case of Omicron; third confirmed case in India
Author
Jamnagar, First Published Dec 4, 2021, 3:12 PM IST

Gujarat has reported its first case of the new Coronavirus variant named Omicron. The state health department officials said that a person who arrived in the state from Zimbabwe was tested positive for the new variant. The case of the 72-year-old patient was reported in Gujarat's Jamnagar. The person, whose identity is yet unknown, was found positive when a Coronavirus test was conducted upon him at the airport. Following this, his sample was sent for genome sequencing. The report, which came on Saturday, confirmed that the person was infected with the Omicron variant. 

The infected person's sample has now been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Manoj Aggarwal, Assistant Chief Secretary at the state Health and Family Welfare Dept, said that a micro containment zone has been established where the person resides. Additionally, contact tracing is also being done aggressively in the area. With this, the country now has a third confirmed case of Omicron. The other two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Karnataka earlier this week. Omicron or B.1.1.529 has been labelled as a more contagious variant, which was first reported by the World Health Organisation in South Africa on November 24. The WHO went on to designate Omicron as a 'Variant of Concern'.

The government of India had on Friday clarified speculations that Omicron overrides the immunity provided by existing vaccines. The health ministry stated that there is no proof to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the B.1.1.529 variant. However, it did admit that some of the mutations reported on the Spike gene could decrease the efficacy of the vaccines that are being administered. The ministry went on to say that vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease, and immunisation with the available vaccines is crucial. 

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