COVID-19 results of 13 passengers awaited in Telangana

HYDERABAD: The Telangana health department on Saturday said it was still awaiting the results of tests conducted on 13 international passengers who arrived in the city over the past four days. It is yet to be confirmed if they contracted Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus.

So far, 979 passengers from at-risk countries flew into the city since mandatory Covid-19 testing for all arrivals from these countries came into force, the department said, adding that on Saturday, 70 such passengers landed in Hyderabad.

All of the Saturday arrivals tested negative for Covid-19. They were allowed to go to their homes but will have to follow mandatory home quarantine, and each of them will be tested for Covid-19 on the eighth day of the quarantine.

If anyone tests positive, then such persons will be shifted to the special Omicron ward at the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences at Gachibowli and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing to identify if they are infected with the Omicron variant.