A 29-year-old NRI from South Africa who recently moved to Vadodara in Gujarat was found to be infected with the BA.5 sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus, a health official said on Tuesday.
The man, who lives in South Africa, tested positive for the coronavirus on May 1 after arriving here to meet his parents.
He left for New Zealand on May 10 after testing negative for the virus, according to Dr Devesh Patel, Chief Health Officer of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation.
His sample was sent to Gandhinagar for genome sequencing. According to the report, which he received on Tuesday, he was infected with the BA.5 sub-variant of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
“On May 1, the man was placed in self-isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. Before departing for New Zealand on May 10, he tested negative. His current location is unknown “Dr. Patel stated.
“The patient displayed no signs of illness. His parents, who were his only contacts at the time, had tested negative for COVID-19. They tested negative for the virus once more “According to the official.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) confirmed the presence of the coronavirus’s BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants in India on Sunday, with one case in Tamil Nadu and another in Telangana.
BA.4 and BA.5 are subvariants of the highly transmissible Omicron variant that is found all over the world. These were first reported in South Africa earlier this year and have since spread to several other countries.
Also Read: INSACOG Confirms Presence Of BA.4, BA.5 Omicron Variants In India