Two minor girls test Omicron positive in Odisha; case tally now

Bhubaneswar, Dec 23 Two minor girls in Odisha have tested Omicron positive, taking the total number of Omicron cases in the state to 4, officials said here on Thursday.

The two minor girls from one family tested Omicron positive following genome sequencing conducted by the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar. One is 11 years old while the other is 15 years old, said Director for Public Health, Niranjan Mishra.

Both along with their parents had returned from Nigeria on December 13, and were in isolation as per the norms, he said, adding, "They are asymptomatic, undergoing treatment in a hospital in Bhubaneswar and their health condition is stable."

The parents of the siblings have tested negative. Contact tracing of the new cases has been done, informed Mishra.

Earlier, two Omicron cases were detected in the state. While one person had returned from Nigeria, another had returned from Qatar.

Director, Health Service, Bijay Mohapatra said that the state government has expedited surveillance and increased testing. All the district administrations have been directed to ramp up testing and vaccination drive, he stated.

Meanwhile, Odisha recorded 155 new Covid cases from 17 districts and one death in the last 24 hours, pushing the active cases to 1,784 and the death toll to 8,448.

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