5 more in TN detected with s-gene drop raising suspicion of Omicron

Chennai, Dec 16: Five more people in Tamil Nadu have been detected with S-Gene drop, indicating that they might also have been infected by Omicron variant of coronavirus, the government said on Thursday.

The state reported the first Omicron case on Wednesday, after the genome sequencing of the sample of a 47-year-old man who arrived here from Nigeria, revealed that he was infected by the new strain. Six of his family members had S-gene drop in them raising suspicion of Omicron infection.

After inspecting the residential locality of the seven passengers, along with Chennai Corporation officials, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said five more people have been detected with S-gene drop raising suspicion of being infected by Omicron variant.

"On Wednesday we had declared one confirmed Omicron case after the person's sample result was released by the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Six of his family members had S-gene drop in them. We are awaiting their sample results." he told reporters here.

"Today another passenger who had travelled with seven others in the same flight from Nigeria, has tested Covid-19 positive and also been detected with S-gene drop. Four of his family members also have tested Covid-19 positive and have been detected with S-Gene drop," he said.

The patients are stable and their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing analysis. They are being continuously monitored by senior doctors at the hospital (King Institute).