Rajasthan: All 9 Omicron patients test negative; discharged from Jaipur hospital

All the nine people in Rajasthan who were found infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been discharged from a government hospital in Jaipur after they tested negative for the disease twice, said Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena on Thursday.

Their reports for blood tests, CT scans, and all other tests are normal and they have been advised to remain in home quarantine for a week. He said that the department was quite alert and vigilant since the news of the novel variant of coronavirus.

"After the report of genome sequencing, the treatment was started by admitting the infected persons to RUHS. Besides this, tracking and tracing of all the people who came in contact with the infected patients were started.

Out of nine patients, four were discharged in the afternoon and the remaining five were discharged in the evening after both the reports came negative. All patients have been advised to remain in home quarantine," Meena said.

Sawai Man Singh Medical College Principal Dr. Sudhir Bhandari said that the transmissibility of the Omicron variant is high but it is not as deadly as the Delta variant.

He said, "Research on the Omicron variant is currently underway. This infection spreads fast, but it is not fatal as the Delta variant. It will have less effect when both doses of the COVID vaccines are taken."

Omicron cases in Rajasthan

Earlier on Sunday, the Rajasthan health department informed that a total of nine cases of Omicron variant were reported in Jaipur. Samples of 34 people, of the family members who travelled to South Africa and those who came in contact with them, were sent for genome sequencing and nine were found to be positive for the variant, said the health department. The remaining 25 people had tested negative.

Meanwhile, 38 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Rajasthan, of which Jaipur reported the highest number of fresh cases at 18. With this, the number of active cases in the state has increased to 260, the officials said.

(With inputs from agency)