Contacts of first Omicron case test negative

VISAKHAPATNAM: An Ireland-returnee, who tested positive for Omicron, has been under 14 days of home isolation, according to district medical and health officer Tirupati Rao.

The DMHO said he was not having any other symptoms. All his six primary contacts who tested negative are under quarantine. 

He also said tests were conducted on Sunday for 43 secondary contacts after omicron positive was reported. All of them tested negative. RTPCR tests were conducted for 50 more secondary contacts on Tuesday and their reports were expected on Wednesday. He said samples of  five percent of positive patients were being sent to CCMB at Hyderabad for genome sequencing to find out omicron.

The DMHO said there was nothing to fear as there are no further cases. However, people should strictly follow covid appropriate behaviour. Wearing of mask and social distance should be followed without any deviation, he said.