Punjab reports first case of Omicron variant from Nawanshahr
Coronavirus Punjab update: Punjab on Wednesday reported its first case of Omicron variant as a 36-year-old man, who returned from Spain earlier this month, tested positive for the new variant of Covid-19.
According to the information, the man had arrived in India on December 4. He visited his relatives in Nawanshahr in Punjab, a health official said.
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The man had tested negative for Covid-19 upon his arrival in Punjab. However, he tested positive on December 12, he said.
Later, he was admitted to a hospital while his samples were sent for genome sequencing at a facility set up at the Government Medical College, Patiala.
Dr Rajiv Bhaskar, state nodal officer for Covid-19, said that the genome sequencing report declared him positive for the Omicron variant on December 28.
With this, Punjab reported its first case of the Omicron variant from Nawanshahr. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister O P Soni has directed the officials to ramp up Covid testing and vaccination.
He took stock of the prevailing Covid-19 situation in Punjab. Punjab's positivity rate stands at 0.3 percent, the health ministry stated while giving a coronavirus update.
-PTC News