Four more Omicron cases have been reported in Telangana on Tuesday, December 21, taking the total number of cases of the new coronavirus variant in the state to 24. Of the four new Omicron cases, three are passengers who arrived at the international airport in Hyderabad from countries other than those declared ‘at-risk’ by the Union government, while one is contact of a positive case, a state Health Department bulletin said. It said the outcome of 13 samples is awaited to determine whether or not they contain the Omicron variant.
Earlier, Telangana DIrector of Public Health G Srinivas Rao had said that 2% random samples were being tested and sequenced among passengers from non-at-risk countries, as per Union government guidelines. However, he added that authorities in Hyderabad were focusing on testing more of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers.
“If any local residents (without travel history) test positive for coronavirus, just continue with the usual treatment. Don't be too concerned with which variant. Genome sequencing is currently being done at the border level to prevent spread,” he advised the public.
Meanwhile, Telangana today reported 172 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,79,892, while the death toll rose to 4,016 with one more fatality. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 86, followed by Ranga Reddy (20) district, the bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Tuesday. The number of recoveries outnumbered fresh cases with 188 people recovering from the infectious disease. The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,72,251.