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At least two people in Odisha have tested positive for the omicron variant of COVID-19, the first cases of the latest version of coronavirus in the state, officials said on Tuesday.
Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) confirmed the existence of the variant in the two patients after conducting the genome sequencing of 12 samples.
Both of them have travel history to foreign nations – Nigeria and Qatar, respectively, they said.
The returnee from the African country is fully vaccinated, and is stable in hospital, Cuttack District COVID-19 Nodal Officer Umesh Ray said.
All his contacts have tested negative, he added.
The other patient is also stable in hospital.
Since the outbreak of the latest variant, 8,800 people arrived in Odisha from different countries, including 1,600 from “at-risk” nations, the officials said.
“It was expected that omicron would make its way to the state. However, there is no need to panic as the new variant has mild symptoms on the patients.”
