7-year-old boy tests positive for Omicron in Bengal

The boy, the official said, recently returned to Bengal from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad

TT |  PTI  |  15.12.21: West Bengal reported its first Omicron case on Wednesday after a seven-year-old boy, resident of Murshidabad district, tested positive for the new coronavirus variant, a senior official of the health department said.

The boy, the official said, recently returned to Bengal from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad.

He left for a relative's place in Malda from Kolkata airport.

"The boy flew with his parents from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad, where he tested positive for Omicron. He had not entered Hyderabad city. He returned to Kolkata on December 11.

"The state health department was alerted about his Omicron report by authorities in Hyderabad only on Wednesday morning," the senior official said.

The seven-year-old has been shifted to a hospital in Malda, he said.

Earlier, the official had said he was undergoing treatment at a Murshidabad hospital.

The child's parents have been placed under isolation and efforts are underway to trace those who came in contact with him, he said.

"Tracking people who travelled with him in the aircraft won't be an easy task. But that has to be done. It's a wonder how he was allowed to travel, along with his parents, despite testing positive for COVID-19. His genome sequencing report was still pending," the official explained.

Asked if another round of tests will be conducted, the official said no such decision has been taken.

"However, we will definitely examine samples of those who came in contact with the boy," he added.

Notably Under new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for the passengers arriving from the "at-risk" countries and they are allowed to leave the airport only after the results come.

Also, two per cent of the passengers arriving on flights from other countries are being tested randomly.

The day before yesterday, Maharashtra also reported two new cases of Omicron variant, with both the patients having Dubai travel history.

Omicron, a new Covid variant said to be "highly transmissible", has now been reported in seven states- Maharashtra (20), Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Gujarat (4), Kerala (1), Andhra Pradesh (1) and West Bengal (1) and two union territories- Delhi (6) and Chandigarh (1), according to ndtv.com.