Omicron in India: 10 travelers from South Africa ‘missing’ in Karnataka.

Omicron in India: 10 travelers from South Africa ‘missing’ in Karnataka.

The state government on Friday said that one in two people who tested positive for Omicron in Karnataka "escaped" after receiving a negative certificate from Covid from a private laboratory. The government is trying to find 10 more people who are reported missing from the airport.

Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashok said after the high-level meeting, "The 10 people who are said to be missing by Friday night should be found and they should be searched. Passengers will not be allowed to leave the airport until their report is released." 

A 66-year-old South African man has been diagnosed with Omicron disease and has "run away", the minister said. The other 57 who arrived at the same time will also be tested, even though they all developed negative RT-PCR tests upon arrival. 10 people named "Missing" could not be contacted because their phones were switched off.

"Everyone will be tested now because one of them tested positive for Omicron even after showing a negative covid test," the minister said.

The man, who arrived from South Africa on November 20, left for Dubai seven days later.

"We have lodged a complaint with the police and they will look into what went wrong at the Shangri-La Hotel where the man escaped," he said.

The man, who was fully vaccinated, visited the hotel the day he arrived and was diagnosed with Covid-19 infection. He had come up with a negative govt test report.

When a government doctor visited him at the hotel, he was found to be asymptomatic and he was instructed to isolate himself.

But since he belongs to one of the "endangered" countries, his samples were collected again and sent to the genetic sequence on November 22nd.

24 people who were in contact with him were tested and found to be negative. Authorities also checked 240 secondary contacts - those with primary contacts for the patent - who were also found to be negative.

On November 23, the person underwent another test in a private laboratory, the result of which was negative.

He left the hotel at midnight on November 27, boarded a train to the airport and boarded a flight to Dubai.

Omicron was confirmed when he already left.

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar has said that the search for missing passengers from Africa has been given priority at the airport. "In the past, our police department has been very good at locating fugitives. Our police will show their skills and monitor everyone. But I urge passengers to act responsibly and with social concern," Dr Sudhakar said.