Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain confirmed on Sunday that the first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been found in the city. The Delhi government has made arrangements for testing of all those coming to the city from the Omicron-affected countries.

So far, 17 coronavirus-positive cases have been found and admitted to LNJP Hospital. Along with this, six people who have come in direct contact with these positive cases have also been admitted to the hospital’s isolation ward, where they are under observation and getting the best possible treatment.

The minister said genome sequencing of all 17 people who tested positive was done so that whether they were infected by the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus could be confirmed.

So far, genome sequencing of 12 people has been completed, and according to the initial report, one person who came from Tanzania has been confirmed to have been infected by the Omicron variant. This is the first case of Omicron having been detected in Delhi, he added.

Jain said, “However, people of Delhi should not panic. Omicron is not a new disease but a variant of the coronavirus. Its symptoms are also similar to almost all the last variants. The protocol for its treatment and prevention is also the same as before. The treatment of omicron-infected patients is also the same. So, there is no need to panic. But we need to be careful. Seeing the cases of coronavirus decreasing, most people are not displaying Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, but now is the time when you need to be more careful. People who have not yet taken the vaccine should get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

He added, “The Delhi government had completed its preparations even before the arrival of the new coronavirus variant. To combat this virus, the Delhi government established 40 isolation wards at LNJP Hospital, with an additional 500 beds ready to go if needed.”

In response to the Central government’s decision not to halt flights from all the countries affected by the Omicron variant, Jain stated, “It is very unfortunate. Five new cases have been reported in the country so far. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written a letter to the Centre, appealing to stop the flights coming from these countries for some time. But the Central government did not do so.”

Since Delhi receives the maximum number of flights from abroad, the city is most at risk from this development. The Central government should accept the demand of the Delhi Chief Minister and flights coming from all the countries affected by the Omicron variant should be banned at the earliest, Jain pointed out.