China-returnee tests positive for Covid in Gujarat

A Gujarat man who recently visited China has tested positive for Covid. However, it is yet to be known whether he is infected with BF.7 variant, which is behind the latest outbreak in China. His sample has been sent to a lab in Gandhinagar for genome sequencing, India Today reported on Thursday.

WATCH: What Is BF.7 Covid Variant? China's New Covid Variant Reaches India  

A resident of Bhavnagar, the 34-year-old businessman had visited China for work-related purposes and returned to India on December 19.

China is currently facing a massive surge in Covid cases. India has asked all the states to send all positive cases for genome sequencing to track new variants if any.

So far, the country has reported four cases of BF.7, three in Gujarat and one in Odisha. BF.7 is a sublineage of Omicron, which is highly infectious.

The Gujarat Health Department on Wednesday said that two patients infected with BF.7 and BF 12 variants were reported in July, October, and November 2022.
These patients were treated in home isolation and have fully recovered.

The Odisha government said that BF.7 Covid sub-variant was detected in the state in a single sample tested on 30 September. At the time of testing, this was not a 'Variant of Concern'.

In the last three months, the government said, no other sample of BF.7 had been detected in Odisha. The person tested was asymptomatic at the time of the test. "She got tested for her travel to the USA. She and her family is in the USA since October. None of them have any flu-like symptoms since their departure from India," state the government added.