Shillong: Five persons, including four women in Meghalaya have tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19, health officials said on Tuesday.
Health and Family Welfare Minister James Sangma said all the five patients are Meghalaya’s first cases of the new variant concern to be detected in the State.
Among the five patients, health officials said three of them are from East Khasi Hills district- one patient is a USA returnee , one from Delhi and a tourist from Assam, while two others are from
Saiden village in Ri-Bhoi district.
“All the five patients are asymptomatic and are under home isolation,” the health minister told UNI over phone.
The Meghalaya government has imposed fresh restrictions in the state with effect from Wednesday.
It has banned official, public and political gatherings and also put a curb on the number of people attending weddings and reimposed night curfew.
“Omicron is spreading very fast throughout the country. The speed at which it’s spreading is
alarming, so we are putting in these restrictions. Therefore, it is important to impose restrictions
to curb the spread of this viral infection,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said.
