In a major concern to Navi Mumbai citizens, first case in the city’s Vashi area has been reported recently.
According to reports, a 19-year-old Vashi resident, who returned from Kenya in mid-December, one of the high-risk countries tested positive with the Omicron variant on December 20. However, the patient is asymptomatic and is at present admitted to MGM Hospital in Sanpada, where a separate isolation ward has been made for Omicron patients.
Officials said that he landed at Hyderabad airport and travelled to Mumbai via road to avoid quarantine at the Mumbai airport.
As per officials, his RT-PCR was done at Hyderabad airport, however, he travelled to Mumbai by road in a cab instead of taking a flight. His report came positive on December 18. He went to Nanavati Hospital and gave a repeat swab. On Sunday, December 19, his mother got a call from Hyderabad authorities that he is Omicron positive.
The antigen test of all his close contacts is negative and the RT-PCR report of the same is awaited. His mother and brother are isolated as well in seperate rooms.
Also Read: Omicron Scare: Centre Tells States To Revert To Night Curfews, Containment Zones
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is testing all the residents in his societies and tracing his journey from Hyderabad to Mumbai.
The four-storeyed building where he resides has four flats on each floor at Sector 14, Vashi, it has been sealed for ten days. Around 450 people reside in the society of the patient and till now around 350 have been tested and all are negative. Remaining residents will be tested soon.
Neither Hyderabad officials informed the corporation nor did the patient himself. The patient then in order to cross-check, went to Nanavati Hospital and took a test wherein he was found to be positive again. On December 20, Hyderabad officials got in touch with the patient’s family and informed that he was Omicron positive. Somehow the news was leaked in the area and someone informed the corporation over an anonymous call.
Officials are also tracing the places the patient had visited before arriving to Mumbai.
Meanwhile, airport officials said that their responsibility is only to provide the space to conduct the tests. The whole procedure of testing, isolation is the responsibility of the government. Till December 18, the protocol was to let go of people after their RT-PCR test and later inform the result on phone. Now, the protocol is changed and the person tested is not allowed to go home till the results are out.
Moreover, on December 21, 11 additional cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state. This takes the aggregate tally to 65 in Maharashtra. According to reports, those affected include an 11-month-old girl and a six-year-old boy from Mumbai.
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