Omicron Scare: 10 South African Nationals Go Missing, Karnataka Govt Asks Police To Help With Tracking Them

Bengaluru, Dec 3: After detection of the country's first two cases of Omicron infection in Bengaluru, the Karnataka Health department is now worried over 10 South African nationals, who have gone untraceable in Bengaluru, sources revealed.

These South African nationals had arrived in Bengaluru between November 12 and 22.

The Health department, which is on high alert after the detection of Omicron cases, wants to get these persons tested, but they have gone missing, sources said. What is Omicron? Why Is It A 'Variant of Concern'? How Can It Be Detected? Get Answers to FAQs on New COVID-19 Variant.

The officials said that th2 persons were not found at the addresses given by them at the airport and their mobile phones were switched off. As many as 57 persons had arrived from high risk countries.

The health department has already approached the police department to track and trace these persons. The department is planning to send all samples to genomic sequencing tests to get clarity on the presence of Omicron virus.

Sources said that the stringent measures at the airport were initiated from November 22 onwards and these ten persons had arrived in Bengaluru before that.

When asked about this, Gaurav Gupta, the Chief Commissioner, stated that he doesn't have any direct information regarding the matter. "I can say that, contact tracing is a continuous process and if they are not found, there are standard protocols to deal with the situation. We are prepared to tackle any situation."

Gaurav Gupta also hinted at initiation of restrictions after the high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2021 02:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).