Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday said that five sailors suspected of having Omicron have been quarantined at a notified facility in South Goa while urging against panic in the coastal state.
A senior state health services official also said that out of the five sailors, two are Russians, who boarded the vessel enroute.
The bauxite-carrying ship arrived in Goa's waters on November 18 after embarking from Cape Town in South Africa on October 31.
"I would like to inform the people of the state of Goa, that five crew members from a vessel who were suspected of the #OmicronVirus in #Goa have been isolated. Their samples have been sent to Pune for genome sequencing, results of the same are awaited," Rane tweeted.
"I appeal to the people of the state of Goa to not panic and continue taking all the precautions to stay protected from the virus," Rane also said.
According to Dr Utkarsh Betodkar, a state epidemiologist, the test results are expected on Wednesday or Thursday.
The official said that the Covid infection may have spread from one of the two Russian nationals who boarded the vessel after it arrived in Goa on November 18. The vessel is currently anchored at the Mormugao Port Trust in South Goa.
"Two Russians boarded the ship on November 23. On November 29, one of them became partially symptomatic. He was tested in Goan waters and was found to be positive for Covid. Because he was positive, other crew members, around 21 of them, were tested. Results showed that four more are positive," Betodkar told reporters.
Currently, one person is still in isolation on board the ship, because his documentation was being processed, while four persons, including the two Russian nationals have been quarantined at a notified government health centre.
"We have taken them as suspects for Omicron and we have isolated them. Out of that, three are already isolated in the Cansaulim PHC, which is a notified facility. One person is still on the vessel isolated," the official said.
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