First Omicron case confirmed in Coimbatore district

A COVID-19 positive senior citizen, who had recently returned to Coimbatore from the United Kingdom, has been confirmed to be the first patient to have contracted the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Coimbatore district.

Sources in the Health Department said on Friday that the 69-year-old man had tested positive for COVID-19 on December 20, days after he arrived at the Coimbatore International Airport from the U.K. His swab samples were subsequently sent to the State Public Health Laboratory in Chennai for whole genomic sequencing. On Friday, the results from the laboratory confirmed the infection by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

The patient had taken both the doses of the Covishield vaccine, the sources said. The patient’s health was stable and had complaints of mild throat irritation as of Friday. After being under home isolation at his residence in Coimbatore, he was shifted to Government Medical College and ESI Hospital in Coimbatore, according to the sources.

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