Omicron: The B.1.1.529 strain was first identified in South Africa last week (File)
Five contacts of a Bengaluru doctor who tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are not carrying that particular strain - although they are Covid-positive themselves - Gaurav Gupta, the Commissioner of the city's municipal corporation, told NDTV on Tuesday.
Mr Gupta said information from health officers and the genome sequencing lab analysing the five samples indicates the five do not have the Covid variant that has triggered widespread alarm globally over reports it is significantly more infectious than the already virulent Delta variant.
A formal announcement from Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar is awaited.
"Five of his almost 200 contacts that we traced turned out to be positive. Their samples were sent for sequencing. According to preliminary results (the official has yet to come) they are negative for the new virus," Mr Gupta told NDTV.
"We are in the process of ascertaining the situation. Ten days ago, we had Omicron in India... 10 days later what the situation will be in the country is difficult to guess now," he said.
The 46-year-old city doctor was one of the first two Omicron Covid cases reported in India.
The other was a 66-year-old South African of Gujarati origin who tested Covid-positive on arrival and "fled" to Dubai after securing a negative test report from a private lab.
The samples of both men tested positive for Omicron last week. 13 primary and 205 secondary contacts of the doctor were tested, of whom these five returned positive Covid results.
The doctor told NDTV he did not have a high fever and experienced only mild symptoms - which is in line with advisories issued by the government and the World Health Organization.
However, questions have been raised about his discharge while the sequencing results were pending. He tested positive November 22 and was admitted to a private hospital the same day. However, he was discharged five days later before being re-admitted December 2.
On December 3 the Union Health Ministry formally announced he was an Omicron Covid case.
He was to be discharged this week, but tested positive for COVID-19 again.
As of Tuesday evening, India has 23 confirmed cases of the Omicron strain.