16 Omicron cases in a single day

Vijayawada: There is a sudden surge of Omicron cases in the state. On a single day, 16 cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected.

On December 28, ten new Omicron positive cases were traced among those who arrived from Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the USA and the UAE. Three passengers who reached East Godavari from Saudi Arabia were tested positive, two each from Anantapur and Kurnool districts landed from the USA and the UAE, one person of Guntur district returned from Nigeria and one person of West Godavari district returned from Kuwait.

The Director of Public Health and Family Welfare said that all those who were tested positive were traced and samples were sent for genome sequencing. He warned people to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and avoid social gatherings and wear masks compulsorily.

It may be noted that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy conducted a review meeting on Covid on Tuesday and directed the officials to conduct a door- to- door fever survey to identify the Covid cases. He said ground level monitoring should be strengthened to check the spread of the new Covid variant. He asked the officials to complete the vaccination programme.

The government is closely monitoring the situation and if need be, may decide to impose restrictions on New Year eve celebrations.