NEW DELHI:  India’s Health Ministry on Thursday informed that two people have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the Karnataka state of India.

A 46-year-old male and a 66-year-old male were those who contracted the variant. Addressing a media briefing Joint Secretary of the Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal said all primary and secondary contacts of the two infected persons from Karnataka have been identified and they are being monitored and COVID-protocols are being followed.

The two cases of Omicron were detected through genome sequencing effort of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) consortium of 37 laboratories established by the Union Health Ministry, said Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at today’s same press briefing.

Meanwhile, Lav Agarwal informed that the Omicron variant can be five times more infectious than the other known variants of the novel coronavirus. “Around 29 countries have reported 373 cases of Omicron Variant so far,” he added.

The new COVID-19 variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9 this year.

On November 26, the WHO named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as ‘Omicron’.

The WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’. Dozens of countries have imposed travel restrictions on the southern African nations since the mutation was discovered.

The new Omicron coronavirus variant has been confirmed in 23 countries and their number is expected to rise, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said.

India has also added several countries to the list from where travelers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in the country, including post-arrival testing for infection. (ANI)