Omicron 'most dominant variant' in Tamil Nadu, says Health Minister Ma Subramanian

Almost 85 out of 100 people who test positive for Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu are infected with the Omicron variant, which is now the “most dominant variant” in the state, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Tuesday.

With the majority of the people being infected with the Omicron variant, the state government has stopped sending Covid-19 samples to the National Institute of Virology, Pune for genomic sequencing, as most patients recover from the illness and are out of hospitals by the time the results arrive.

Briefing reporters about the Covid-19 situation in the state, Subramanian said a majority of the patients admitted to hospitals are not in need of oxygen or intensive care support, stressing the point that such patients are double vaccinated.

“We are not sending samples for (genomic sequencing) to NIV, Pune. If we test 100 people, 85 to 86 are infected with the Omicron variant. Even if we send these samples for genomic sequencing, most patients get discharged from hospitals by the time the results come. We have enough evidence that Omicron is the most dominant variant in the state,” Subramanian said.

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However, the state was looking for S-Gene dropout, a proxy test for Omicron variant, at the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) set up by the Tamil Nadu government after the second wave of Covid-19.

While handing out an assurance that an adequate amount of oxygen was available in the state, Subramanian said, for now, the oxygen need for patients is very less and asked corporates to help the government buy pulse oximeters to be distributed to people under home isolation for monitoring their health.

“The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in Chennai and district administrations are procuring the pulse oximeters. If corporates want to contribute something through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, they can buy these oximeters and give it to the civic body and district administration,” he said.

On the situation in Chennai, Subramanian said 21,987 Covid-19 patients in the city are under home isolation and they are being monitored by doctors through teleconsultation. He also said the GCC will utilise the services of 1,000 volunteers who will be involved in monitoring the health of the patients who are under home isolation.

Chennai has been witnessing an exponential increase in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus with the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) jumping from 3.3 per cent on January 1 to 17.4 per cent on January 9.

The number of daily cases which stood at 1,470 on the first day of 2022 increased to 6,190 on January 9, even as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) continues to enhance the number of RT-PCR tests every day. While the TPR on January 1 was 3.3 per cent, it rose to 3.6 per cent on January 2, 4.3 per cent (Jan 3), 7.3 per cent (Jan 4), 9.6 per cent (Jan 5), 11.5 per cent (Jan 6), 14.2 per cent (Jan 7), 15.5 per cent (Jan 8), and 17.4 per cent (Jan 9).

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