Karnataka has confirmed a third incidence of Omicron variant being detected in the state. Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K on Sunday tweeted that the patient is a 34-year-old man who returned from South Africa and is being isolated at a government hospital. He added that 5 primary contacts and 15 secondary contacts have been traced and their samples too have been subjected to testing. Health department officials confirmed that this patient is also from Bengaluru city and will be treated at Bowring Hospital in the city.
Earlier Karnataka had detected two instances of Omicron in the state. In one case, a South African national had left the country after landing in Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru under suspicious circumstances. Police have registered a case against the management of the five star hotel where the man was to stay in quarantine for two weeks. The hotel management has said that they allowed the man to leave as he produced a negative report from a private lab.
Another patient, a government hospital doctor in the state, has been stable without developing any complications.
Meanwhile the state government has issued a special discharge policy for patients infected with the Omicron variant. The discharge policy states that patients can be discharged after 10 days of symptoms' onset if no fever and no symptoms are found in the last three days before discharge and oxygen saturation is maintained above 95% for the last four consecutive days without oxygen support. However, patients need to test negative twice on RT-PCR tests taken within a gap of a day. If a patient tests positive, then they can be subjected to a repeat test after 48 hours.
Post discharge, patients will be advised another seven days of home quarantine and self monitor their health. For patients for whom home quarantine is not feasible, they are advised to go for institutional quarantine.
District surveillance officers have been asked to follow up with these patients during the home quarantine period.