Five people, including two Russian nationals, who arrived in Goa on board a merchant navy ship were isolated after they tested positive for coronavirus and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to detect the presence of the Omicron variant, an official said on Monday.
State Epidemiologist Utkarsh Betodkar said the five are being treated as Omicron suspects and the genome sequencing reports are expected to arrive from Pune by Thursday.
"The ship had arrived in Goa on November 18 after leaving Cape Town in South Africa on October 31, and the two Russians had boarded it en route. The testing of the crew first revealed one COVID-19 case and then five," he said.
The five have been isolated at the community health centre in Cansaulim as per Central government guidelines for such cases, he added.
Omicron's Sub-Variant Hasn't Increased Hospitalisations: Health Minister How States Are Bracing For Impact Amid Alarming Global Covid Surge Coronavirus Live Updates: India Highlights 5,910 New COVID-19 Cases, 16 Deaths 9 Dead, 2,800 Hurt As Pagers Explode Across Lebanon, Hezbollah Blames Israel "Wear Proper Undergarments": Delta Airlines' New Memo For Flight Attendants IndiGo Flight Tailstrike Leaves Huge Dent During Take-Off From Delhi Airport Russian Group Behind Fake Kamala Harris Hit-And-Run Story: Microsoft Live Updates: J&K To Vote In First Assembly Elections In A Decade Today Donald Trump Says He Will Meet PM Modi Next Week Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.