Omicron threat keeps Warangal officials on toes
Warangal: With the detection of the first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus in Hanamkonda, the officials of the Health and Medical Department and Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) are on the alert to check the spread of new variant. Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr K […]
Warangal: With the detection of the first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus in Hanamkonda, the officials of the Health and Medical Department and Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) are on the alert to check the spread of new variant.
Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr K Lalitha Devi said that a woman techie (29) along with her husband and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter came to Hanamkonda on December 2. “Though they went screening for the Covid-19 at the airport in Hyderabad, they tested negative. However, we collected the second swab sample on December 12 here and sent it to the lab at the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in which it was found that the woman had contracted the virus. Subsequently, we sent the samples to a lab in Hyderabad for genome sequence. On Thursday, she tested positive for the Omicron variant too,” the DMHO said adding that the patient had been shifted to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS), Gachibowli, on Friday.
However, her husband and their ward tested negative for the Covid-19. The couple had got two doses of AstraZeneca while they were in the Czech Republic. “We collected the swab samples of her husband and daughter again on Friday,” the DMHO said.
The officials have also collected the swab samples of all the 30 people residing in the apartment where the family had been residing and sent them to the KMC lab. The officials also warned the apartment dwellers not to venture out of their flats until the test reports come. “We can expect the test results by Saturday morning. If anyone tests positive, we will further send the samples for genome sequencing to identify the Omicron variant,” Dr Lalitha Devi added.
Meanwhile, the sanitary staff of the GWMC sprayed the sodium hypochlorite at the apartment located near Spencer’s retail store in Subedari in Hanamkonda.
As of now, the officials appealed to the people living in the city to follow the Covid protocol to protect themselves from the new variant which is spreading so quickly when compared to the old variants. The officials have also collected the information about the first and second contacts of the patient and her husband. Meanwhile, a sort of fear has gripped many a resident of Greater Warangal city with the detection of the Omicron. “It is shocking to know that a patient infected by Omicron variant is residing in our locality,” said B Sravanthi Reddy, a resident. She, however, added that they were not much scared as the Omicron was said to be mild compared to Delta variants. Srinivas Duddula, a medical shop owner, has, however, found fault with the officials for not keeping the couple and their child in quarantine since they came from a European country as the Omicron had become a dominant variant with exponential growth. “The government must keep the people coming from Europe and the USA in quarantine for at least two weeks to check the anticipated third wave of Covid-19 in Telangana,” he added.
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