120 Omicron cases detected in Tripura, no need to panic says official

Agartala: In a big development, 120 cases of Omicron variant of novel coronavirus have been detected in Tripura so far out of which 6 samples were of December month, said an official.

According to the health department official, a total of 231 samples were sent in the month of January to National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBG), Kalyani out of which 120 samples were detected to be of the Omicron variant.

The health department had sent 69 samples between January 1 to 15 and 162 samples between January 16 to 31 respectively. Of this, 8 samples were tested positive for Omicron variant in the first phase and 112 samples were found to be Omicron positive in the second phase.

The West Tripura district has reported the highest 76 Omicron cases, followed by Sepahijala with 14 cases, South Tripura 10 cases, Khowai 6, 5 each in Unakoti and North Tripura, Gomati reported 4 cases, while Dhalai reported no Omicron cases.

However, the health officials have asked to not panic as the number of fresh COVID-19 positives has reduced in the last one month and the present day positivity rate stands at 0.35 percent.

“There is no need to worry as the Omicron variant is not dangerous in comparison to the delta variant of coronavirus. The positivity rate also stands below 5 percent which is below the danger line,” the official said.

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