Omicron: 5 merchant navy ship crew isolated in Goa, genome sequencing reports awaited

Five people, including two Russian nationals, who arrived in Goa on board a merchant navy ship were isolated after they tested positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to detect the presence of the Omicron variant, an official said on Monday.

State Epidemiologist Utkarsh Betodkar said the five are being treated as Omicron suspects and the genome sequencing reports are expected to arrive from Pune in neighbouring Maharashtra on Wednesday or Thursday.

"The ship had arrived in Goa on November 18 after leaving Cape Town in South Africa on October 31, and the two Russians had boarded it en route. The testing of crew first revealed one COVID-19 case and then five,” he said.


The five have been isolated at the community health centre in Cansaulim as per Central government guidelines for such cases, he added.