246 foreign returnees to Odisha test Covid positive, Omicron test awaited

At least 246 foreign returnees to Odisha have tested positive for Covid19, informed Ajay Parida, Director of Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar on Monday. According to Parida, the RT-PCR samples of the 246 returnees were collected for genome sequencing to ascertain and detect if they were infected with the new Omicron variant of the virus.

“Earlier, genome sequencing of 141 samples of foreign returnees was conducted and the presence of Omicron variant was not detected. Samples of 246 returnees, who have tested positive for Covid-19, have been received from different districts for genome sequencing,” said Parida.

The ILS director said that compared to the first and second wave, both the Centre and Odisha government have adopted a proactive approach and focus is being given on testing and tracking of the returnees.