Srinagar- In what could be a worrying sign for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory has no facilities to test Omicron cases, five of which came out positive on Tuesday, setting off alarm bells among the divisional administration.
In the Valley, five cases of the new Covid variant-Omicron came positive on Tuesday and included three non-local travellers, an official said. The samples of all of them, he said, were taken over three weeks earlier and sent outside for testing.
Spokesperson of Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Mir Mushtaq told Kashmir Observer that first case was from Uri area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district while second one was from South Kashmir’s Shopian
“Both the patients have recovered and are doing fine. Their samples were taken over 25 days ago and the report came today,” he said.
He said that the sample of a pregnant woman from Uri was taken on December 20 last year.
“The report in Omicron cases come after 20-25 days as the samples have to be sent outside the Valley for testing. We don’t have such facilities in the valley yet,” Mushtaq said.
The Omicron virus is detected by genome sequencing and is conducted by the Institute of Genomic and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in New Delhi.
When asked why the UT lacks such facilities when the virus is spreading rapidly, the health department spokesperson said that it is the government that takes such decisions.
“Also such things can’t be pre-empted. Omicron testing takes time. However, if the facility comes to Kashmir it will take less time then sending the samples to New Delhi,” he said.
Mushtaq further said that the three non-local travellers, who have tested Omicron positive, have returned back after their samples were taken in Anantnag last month.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier three cases of Omicron were detected in Jammu who had already recovered.
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