After Mumbai, Vadodara experiences case of XE variant of Omicron

Express News Service

NEW DELHI//AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat authorities on Saturday reported the primary case of Omicron’s sub-variant XE within the state. Said to be 10 per cent extra transmissible, this was detected in a person from Mumbai who examined optimistic for Covid-19 throughout his go to to Vadodara. He has gone again to Mumbai and is claimed to be in secure situation.

This is the second reported case of the variant in India, after one in Mumbai earlier this week. The Central authorities, which denied that the case in Mumbai was one among XE, didn’t touch upon the Gujarat case until late within the night. Experts have suggested to not panic, saying that this mix of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains of Omicron won’t be harmful for a vaccinated inhabitants.

Officials on the Indian Sars-coV-2 Genome Consortium (INSACOG), a community of labs that tracks sequences, and the Union well being ministry are but to substantiate if the Gujarat case is definitely an XE variant.

According to Gujarat well being division officers, a take a look at was carried out on a 67-year-old man who got here to Vadodara from Mumbai final month. He took a Covid-19 take a look at after complaining of fever. The report was optimistic. This was round March 15. His samples had been despatched for genome sequencing to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre in Gandhinagar for testing as per ICMR tips. The report got here on Friday evening.

Those who got here in touch with the person from Mumbai have examined unfavorable. “Covid test reports of three persons who came in contact with the patient are negative,” the Gujarat well being division stated. “Condition of the patient was stable when the health department had a conversation with him over the phone. As precautionary measures, action has been taken in that area in Vadodara as per Covid guidelines,” stated the well being division in a media assertion.

Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary of Health, Manoj Agarwal stated, “Transition capability of the XE variant is higher than Omicron. The hospitalisation process is the same. The Centre will continue to provide guidance.” The present variant has generated concern worldwide and in India, which has simply lifted all Covid-related restrictions, with many states making it not necessary to put on masks anymore.