NEW DELHI : The first confirmed case of Omicron sub-variant BA.4 has prompted the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to resume contact tracing after a gap of almost three months.
An NCDC team has already tested 24-25 people who came in direct contact with the African national infected with the BA.4 sub variant, the first case in India detected in Hyderabad, said a government official on condition of anonymity.
The Union health ministry and Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) called a meeting on Friday to firm up a surveillance strategy.
Last week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had asked countries to be vigilant about the BA.4 and BA.5 variants after a spike in BA.5 infections in Portugal. “In February, the government stopped contact tracing.