Bhubaneswar:As many as 380 people have returned to Odisha from countries hit by the new coronavirus strain, Omicron, earlier this week, and all of them have tested negative, an official said on Thursday.
The new variant, first identified in southern Africa, contains a large number of spike-protein mutations, suggesting re-infection risk and potential vaccine resistance.
People returning from the at-risk' countries will have to be in home quarantine for seven days, despite testing negative for COVID-19. They will be examined again on the eighth day, Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra said.
As many as 224 people returned on Monday and 156 the day after, the health official said at a press conference, adding that the districts had been informed for surveillance.
The travellers came to the state only after testing negative at the international airports. The World Health Organization stated that there were 26 countries so far where the new variant has been detected, he added.
Meanwhile, a college in Dhenkanal municipality was sealed on Thursday after 33 students were found to have contracted COVID-19
Three to four days ago, four students at a hostel of Saikrupa Residential College at Kunjakanta were detected with the disease, following which others there were tested, the official said.
Out of 210 samples, 33 tested positive and the patients were moved to isolation. The area has been declared a containment zone for 10 days, he added.
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Meanwhile, the state has logged 252 more coronavirus infections, which took the tally to nearly 10.5 lakh, while two fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 8,415, the health department said.