Hyderabad: First Omicron case reported in Old City

Hyderabad: A sense of panic prevailed in Panjesha of Old City after a case of Omicron was detected in the area. It is the first case of the new variant reported from the southern part of the city.

The officials from the Health department, as part of a precautionary measure, ran RT-PCR tests on 285 persons in the area. Following four more testing positive for Omicron in Hyderabad on Thursday, a person residing in Panjesha, who landed in Hyderabad from Dubai on December 13, was picked up by Health department officials after he tested positive for the new variant. According to officials, the said air passenger who tested positive was in home isolation and no other family members were found along with him.

"Early morning, the medical team along with police officers picked the person from his house and shifted to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS). On Friday, the Health department ran tests on over 285 persons in the surrounding area of the person's house," said Dr G Ravali, medical officer. She informed, "After the passenger reached Hyderabad, he was under home isolation and did not meet any of the family members. As a precautionary measure, to contain the spread of virus, 35 RT-PCR tests were conducted on the persons residing close to the infected person's house and another 250 on others residing in the surroundings. None tested positive for the virus." Meanwhile, the Entomology team of GHMC sprayed disinfectant in the area and asked the residents not to panic besides maintaining social distance and wearing face masks to stay safe.