Maharashtra man tests positive for Omicron after returning from South Africa; total cases in India rise to 4

A man from Maharashtra who returned to the Kalyan Dombivali municipal area near Mumbai from South Africa has tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Saturday, said the health department. This is the fourth such case reported in India after a 72-year-old man tested positive for the new COVID-19 variant in Jamnagar city of Gujarat earlier today. The 33-year-old man belonging to Maharashtra had arrived in Delhi on 23 November and had given his samples for COVID-19 testing at Delhi airport. He had then taken a flight to Mumbai, official sources said in Delhi. A 33-year-old person from Kalyan-Dombivli who recently returned from South Africa found positive for #Omicron variant of #COVID19: State Health Department This is the first case of the variant in Maharashtra and the fourth in the country. — ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2021 “A man from Kalyan Dombivli municipal corporation area has tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19. He is the first official case in the state,” Maharashtra health department director Dr Archana Patil told. At least 14 international travellers from ‘at risk countries’ have tested COVID-19 positive, said the Mumbai civic body. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) released a set of rules for travellers from ‘at risk’ nations who are under home quarantine. According to the new guidelines, officials will make physical visits to homes to ensure proper monitoring. A seven-day quarantine is compulsory for travellers from ‘at risk’ nations. Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar confirming the same, said, “We’re alert about people returning from ‘at risk’ countries and have prepared an action plan for it. The airport authorities have been directed to inform our disaster control room on arrivals from these countries.” Mumbai’s ‘ward war room’ or WWR team, will then dial people who are home quarantined at least five times a day to monitor their health. In case a traveller is found breaking the rules, he/she would be booked under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Epidemic Act, 1897. The municipal corporation issued the detailed guidelines on 3 December to keep track of the health of these travellers. On Friday, the BMC had mandated seven-day home quarantine of people arriving in the city from high-risk countries amid global concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus . “An RT-PCR test will be conducted after seven days and necessary steps will be taken accordingly,” the order added. The Omicron strain, first detected in South Africa, has been classified as a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). The first cases of Omicron variant in India were confirmed in two individuals in Karnataka on 2 December. With inputs from agencies