Coronavirus / 12 people from 'at-risk' nations admitted to Delhi's LNJP; 8 test COVID +ve

New Delhi: Twelve suspected cases of Omicron have been admitted to Delhi’s LNJP hospital days after they returned to the national capital from "at-risk" countries".

All patients are admitted to the state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital. The Delhi government has designated the LNJP hospital for the treatment of patients infected with the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to check if they were infected with the Omicron variant. The results will be out in four or five days, according to a senior hospital official, PTI reported.

Of 12, eight are confirmed coronavirus patients while four have symptoms like sore throat, fever and history of contact with patients.

"Four patients are from the UK, four from France, two from Netherlands, one from Belgium and one from Tanzania. Two of the patients are foreign nationals," said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of the hospital.

Four of the patients were found COVID positive through RT-PCR test while four tested positive through the rapid antigen test, he added.

So far, two confirmed cases of Omicron have been reported in India, both in Karnataka.

One of them is a 46-year-old healthcare worker based in Bengaluru who is fully vaccinated and has no travel history while the other patient is a 66-year-old foreigner who had travelled to South Africa.

The Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, has been confirmed in 23 countries and the number is expected to rise, WHO has said.

According to the Centre, the countries designated as "at-risk" include the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

Those arriving to India from these "at-risk" countries are required to undergo RT-PCR tests and will be allowed to leave the airport only after the results come.