New Delhi: There have been five confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India so far.
None of them has thus far reported any severe symptom, and is similar to the effects of common cold.
A South African national was the first Omicron case detected in India. He was completely asymptomatic and returned to his home country from Bengaluru after testing negative.
A Bengaluru doctor with no international travel history was the second person to have contracted the new variant first found in South Africa. He is recovering in hospital and his contacts have been traced.
A 33-year-old Mumbai-based marine engineer, who was not vaccinated, and a Gujarat NRI also have mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19 Omicron variant.
The fifth case was revealed on Sunday — a Tanzania-returnee in Delhi. He has been admitted to LNJP Hospital and has a sore throat, weakness and body ache, Dr Suresh Kumar told ANI.
The history of Omicron-infected people in India corroborates the view of doctors in South Africa who have been saying that the new variant is not causing severe illness.
Research is still underway, but scientists are not yet sure about its increased transmissibility.
Tata Institute for Genetics and Society director Dr Rakesh Mishra feels that people may confuse this with common cold as there is no breathing trouble or loss of smell/taste, unlike the symptoms of Delta variant which triggered the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India.
This may increase the spread of Omicron variant.
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