Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K.Sudhakar while addressing the media in Bengaluru he said, "57 people came from South Africa. Among them, 10 foreigners have gone untraceable for BBMP and health officials. These ten had come to Bengaluru with a travel history in African countries. These South African nationals had arrived in Bengaluru between November 12 and 22. Their phones are switched off. The state health department is tracking them,"
"Same thing happened during the first and second wave. So we have experience in these cases and we will find them shortly. The health department has already approached the police department to track and trace these persons. But infected persons should not neglect anything", he added.
Already two persons tested positive for the Omicron variant in Karnataka. Amid this scare, some travelers who came from South Africa went missing in the state, stated Health Minister Dr. K.Sudhakar said.
Also Read: Frequently Asked Questions on new COVID Variant- Omicron
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government issued revised guidelines in the state. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, while addressing a press conference on Thursday said that, "Two cases of Omicron Variant reported in the country so far. Both cases are from Karnataka. In all such cases in the country and across the world so far, no severe symptom has been noted. WHO has said that its emerging evidence is being studied,"
Of the two infected persons, one person is about a 66-year-old, South African national, who has gone back. Another person is a 46-year-old doctor, with no travel history. The person who has left for South Africa via Dubai had presented a negative certificate for the virus, from a private lab. His primary and secondary contacts a total of 264 were found negative. So it means that his certificate may be true, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar has informed.
According to the Centre, the countries designated as "at-risk" are European countries, including the UK, and South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. Under the new norms, RT-PCR tests are mandatory for passengers arriving from the "at-risk" countries and they will be allowed to leave the airport only after the results come.
