Health and Family Welfare Minister Mr. Subramaniam told reporters here that a person who arrived in Tiruchirappalli from Singapore in the early hours and a child who came here from Britain with his family has been confirmed to be infected with the corona virus. He has expressed regret that both of them are being told on social media as a case of infection with the new form of corona virus, Omicron. Singapore and the UK are both high-risk countries.
He said, “The passenger from Singapore reached Tiruchirappalli at 3.30 am (on Friday). He was found infected during investigation and was taken to the local medical college, where he has been kept in isolation. There will be genome sequencing of his sample for which we have a center here. However, it will also be sent to a laboratory in Bengaluru and only after the result will we know whether he is infected with Omicron or not.”
“For the time being, he is only COVID positive,” the minister said. Without divulging further details of the second case, he said the child along with his family has been admitted to King’s Institute here where relevant investigations are underway.
He told reporters at The King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research Guindy in the evening, “Another person from the UK reached Chennai today who was found infected. At present, his samples are being tested. This morning we said that two passengers were found infected. Now that number has increased to three. ,
In this regard, the Minister inspected the 200-bed bard in this institute along with Principal Secretary, Health Department, J Radhakrishnan and senior health officials.
The UK and Singapore are both ‘high risk’ countries. The minister said people returning from high-risk countries have been asked to stay in home isolation for a week upon arrival.
On social media, dismissing claims that both these cases of infection are of oomicron nature, Subramaniam said, “We will be transparent in announcing the results” as it will help in creating more public awareness against the pandemic. He urged social media users to exercise caution about considering a “sensitive issue”.
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