Omicron scare: 5 with travel history of Africa detected COVID-19 positive in Bihar

Representative image: Reuters

Five passengers, who came from Omicron affected countries of Africa, were detected Covid positive in Bihar's Gopalganj district on Sunday, and their samples have been sent for genome testing.

The patients had recently arrived in Gopalganj. As per the Covid protocol, the district administration conducted RT-PCR tests of these passengers and the reports came positive.

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Following the development, the district administration sent them to an observation center in the district. "The process of Genome sequencing has started now. They will undergo genome sequencing in Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) very soon. Following those results, it will be clear whether they are infected with Omicron or not," an official from the civil surgeon office in Gopalganj said.

"We have taken all precautionary measures to check the passengers coming from other states. We are also in touch with the civil aviation and health department officials to obtain names of the passengers coming from other countries.

"Teams of the health department have been deployed at the railway station and bus stands to check on passengers coming from other states," he said.