Vadodara: India reported a 2nd case of Omicron BA.5 variant, this time in a 29 year old NRI, visiting his parents in Vadodara, from South Africa. The above variant is highly-transmittable COVID variant.
According to the reports, the man, who lives in South Africa, was tested positive on May 1 after he arrived in Vadodara to meet his parents. He had left for New Zealand on May 10 after testing negative for the virus, Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s chief health officer Dr Devesh Patel said.
“The patient showed no symptoms. His parents, who were his only contacts, had tested negative for COVID-19 at that time. They have again tested negative for the virus,” the official said.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has confirmed, on Sunday, the presence of BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron in India – in Tamil Nadu and in Telangana, respectively.
BA.4 and BA.5 were first reported in South Africa earlier this year and now are reported in many other countries.
