6 flyers from at-risk nations, South Africa in Maharashtra found Covid positive

MUMBAI: On the lookout for the new Omicron variant, state health authorities have found six travellers infected with Covid within a fortnight of their return from South Africa or other high-risk countries with the strain.
One of these six patients, a male in his forties, is from Mumbai, but BMC officials are confident that he is unlikely to be affected by the Omicron variant. “We have tested his sample using a specialised RT-PCR test that checks for the ‘S’ gene. As his test showed the presence of the S gene, it is unlikely he has Omicron,” said BMC additional commissioner Suresh Kakani.
The remaining five patients are: one each from Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira Bhayander and Pune, and two from Pimpri-Chinchwad, said the state’s surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate. All the patients are asymptomatic and have been placed in quarantine.