Coronavirus: Tanzania returnee first Omicron patient in Manipur

A 48-year-old returnee from Tanzania on Monday tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Manipur, making him the first patient of the strain in the northeastern state, the Directorate of Health Services said.

The resident of Imphal West district recently returned from the African country via Delhi, it said.

The man tested positive for COVID-19 on the eighth day of his return to India, and his sample, which was sent to the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development in Imphal for whole-genome sequencing, was found to be infected with the Omicron strain, the directorate said.

The patient has been placed under isolation at state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences here, and he has not exhibited any severe symptoms, it said, adding that his temperature, respiratory and pulse rates are being constantly monitored.

Three other family members of the Omicron patient have also tested positive for COVID-19, but their genome sequencing results are yet to come, it added.

Manipur reported 17 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the state's tally to 1,25,723. The northeastern state now has 182 active cases, while 1,23,540 people have recovered from the disease so far, and 2,001 patients have succumbed to the infection to date.