10 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said on Thursday.
They said that “10 Omicron cases were detected from different areas of Union territory from last 24 hours. RTPCR testing of entire localities ordered,”
Official sources told Srinagar based news agency that 10 new Omicron cases were reported in Jammu and Kashmir, the tally stands at 23. “Out of 23 cases six are discharged, recovered, migrated,” they said.
The further details of the new cases will be shared later, they said.
A new variant of Covid-19 was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on 25 November. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November this year.
On 26 November, the WHO named the new Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529 as ‘Omicron’. The WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’.
To deal with this, several countries have imposed travel restrictions and local lockdown.
India has added several countries to the “at-risk” list from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in the country, including post-arrival testing for infection.
It is pertinent to mention here that on December 21, Jammu and Kashmir reported the first three cases of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Whereas, earlier this week, Jammu and Kashmir reported 10 cases, with five each from Jammu and Kashmir division. Out of 10 cases, three were non-local travellers. (KDC)
