10 missing S Africans will be traced by midnight: K'taka Minister

Bengaluru, Dec 3 With the Karnataka capital on alert after accounting for the first two cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country, state Revenue Minister R. Ashok said that the the missing 10 South African nationals from Bengaluru will be tracked by Friday midnight.

Talking to reporters after the high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, he said: "They will be tracked and tested. The authorities have been given directions in this regard." he underlined.

Following detection of the two cases of Omicron infection in Bengaluru, 10 South African nationals Abecame untraceable in Bengaluru causing worry for the state Health Department.

These South African nationals had arrived in Bengaluru between November 12 and 22. The Health Department, which is on high alert after detection of Omicron cases, wanted to get these persons tested, but they have gone missing.

They were not found at the address given at the airport and their mobile phones were switched off. As many as 57 persons have arrived from high risk countries including these 10.

The Health Department has already approached the police to track and trace these persons, as it plans to send all samples to genomic sequencing tests to get clarity on the presence of Omicron virus.

Asked about this, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that he doesn't have any direct information regarding the matter. "I can say that contact tracing is a continuous process and if they are not found, there are standard protocols to deal with the situation. We are prepared to tackle any situation."

The stringent measures at the airport were initiated from November 22 onwards but these persons have arrived in Bengaluru prior to that.