As many as five Covid-19 positive patients who had landed in the Kempe Gowda International Airport here have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus following the genome sequencing test, officials said on Thursday. The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare said after the detection of fresh infections, the overall caseload of the new Covid variant in Karnataka has risen to eight.

Out of the eight cases, four pertain to international arrivals from "at-risk" countries, while three have travelled from Delhi, and one case is related to a possible contact with a foreigner or international traveller, officials said. Except for one case, where the international traveller went back to South Africa, the remaining confirmed cases were in institutional isolation (at hospital) and were treated as per the Central government's protocol.