Hyderabad: COVID Positive Female Flier From UK Tests Negative For Omicron

HYDERABAD:  In a relief, to the State medical authorities a woman passenger who arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here from Britain last week was on Monday found negative for the new coronavirus variant, Omicron.

The 35-year old woman had tested positive for COVID-19 in the RT-PCR test conducted at the airport upon her arrival and was one of the first to be tested after the Omicron threat had started across the globe.

She was admitted to the state-run Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) here for institutional quarantine and treatment after she was diagnosed with COVID-19. Her samples were sent for genome sequencing to ascertain whether she was infected with the Omicron variant.

The genome sequencing report showed her to be negative for Omicron, state Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said on Monday.

The genome sequencing results of 12 other international passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 after their arrival are awaited.

The State government has strengthened the testing mechanism at the Hyderabad RGIA, among other measures, in the wake of 'Omicron' threat.

Several cases of the Omicron variant of Coronavirus have sprung up in India with Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Delhi reporting new cases on Sunday. Currently, India’s tally stands at 21.

Telangana recorded 156 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total number of those affected by the disease in the state to 6,76,943 as on Sunday. 
Out of the new cases, 43 students of a private medical college in Karimnagar district tested positive for COVID-19 and the college and  hostel has been shut. The toll rose to 3,999 with one more person succumbing to the virus, a medical bulletin said. The number of active cases in the state stood at 3,787, the bulletin said. 

Also Read: Hyderabad: Female Passenger From UK Tests Positive At RGIA