With one more case of Omicron variant being reported from Dakshina Kannada, the district has reported six cases of the variant so far.
In addition, Udupi district has reported two cases of the variant for the first time.
With this the coastal belt has reported eight cases of the variant so far. All the patients have recovered and are doing fine, health department officials said.
According to Dakshina Kannada Disease Surveillance Officer K. Jagadeesha the new case has been reported from the same cluster, Srinivasa Nursing College, Valachil which had reported a case of the variant earlier on December 18. Both the patients are nursing students who are doing fine, he said.
Their swab samples were among the samples of 19 students which had been sent for genomic analysis on December 10 after they tested positive for COVID-19 on December 9, Dr. Jagadeesha said.
The swab sample of the second student was collected on Sunday for the testing again, he said.
Meanwhile, the Omicron variants have been found in the samples of an 82- year-old patient and a 72- year-old patient in Udupi.
A health department official in Udupi said that their samples had been sent for genomic analysis on November 30 and the test results were received on December 19.
Both the patients have recovered now, the official said.
