Alarming details have now emerged of the activities of the first Omicron case in the state during his mandatory home quarantine for eight days before testing for COVID-19
TFM Report
Fear of Manipur turning Omicron hotspot looms large as alarming details have now emerged of the activities of the first Omicron case in the state during his mandatory home quarantine for eight days before testing for COVID-19.
The 48-year-old man from Imphal was the first Omicron case reported in the Northeast. It has made concern about the dreaded virus come to the fore in public discussion after a lull for some months. After the devastating second wave of the ongoing COVID pandemic that hit the state hard, it seems lessons have not been learnt by some people and the authorities making policies to manage the pandemic.
The mandatory home quarantine was put in place for the international travellers arriving in the state in view of the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The man arrived in Imphal on December 13 — travelling from the Eastern African country of Tanzania — and was in “home quarantine” for eight days. He was tested positive for COVID-19 on December 21 and his sample was sent for genome sequencing at IBSD, Takyelpat. On December 27, it was confirmed that he has been infected with the Omicron variant. Three from his family were also tested positive for COVID-19 on December 24, through contact tracing and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing. The results are being awaited.
But the man seems to have not adhered to the “strict protocol” of being in home quarantine. As per reports, on December 21, he went to repair the cycle of his son at a cycle workshop. Three workers of the cycle workshop have been identified for testing and instructed for home quarantine for 14 days by the authorities.
He had also gone to a local shop to purchase a packaged drinking water bottle. The owner of the shop has been identified for testing and instructed for home quarantine for 14 days. The man had gone to an individual’s home and that man has now been identified for testing and instructed for home quarantine for 14 days. Till December 21, some labourers had also worked at his home.
The daughter, who has been tested positive for COVID-19, had attended a private tuition centre till December 21. Now, 54 students have been identified for testing and instructed for 14-day home quarantine. Another 28 students have also been identified from another tuition centre she had attended. She had also attended classes in her school till December 21.
A 63-year-old man who is a relative of the man infected with the Omicron variant has also been tested positive for COVID-19. The 63-year-old had attended a marriage ceremony on December 15 and the local club had been instructed to identify the attendees of the marriage ceremony. He had also attended a birthday celebration on December 17.
The man had also held a meeting with local friends at his residence on December 18. Three persons have been identified for testing and instructed for 14 days home quarantine.
In view of these alarming details, questions have been raised about the protocol in place for the prevention and fighting of the new variant. There is no doubt that the man should have adhered to the strict protocol of home quarantine. But observers are now wondering why such international travellers had to be subjected for home quarantine, instead of an institutional quarantine center which was the norm in the first wave in 2020.
As the Omicron variant is said to be three to four times more transmissible than the Delta variant, which was the dominant variant in the second wave, the state might become the hotspot for the new variant in the Northeast in view of the intensifying election campaigns and the loopholes in the protocol.