The new Covid-19 variant, 'Omicron' can be five times more infectious than the other known variants of the novel coronavirus, said the Union Health Ministry on Thursday, adding that the center is waiting for more data on transmissibility.
The Union Health Ministry on Thursday informed that two people have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Karnataka.
A 46-year-old male and a 66-year-old male were those who contracted the variant.
The two cases of Omircron were detected through genome sequencing effort of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) consortium of 37 laboratories established by Union Health Ministry, said Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at today's same press briefing.
Omicron could be 500% more competitively infectious, according to government data.
"Around 29 countries have reported 373 cases of Omicron Variant so far," said Lav Agarwal, Jt Secy Health Ministry
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.
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