The Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare department on Saturday said that it had identified a COVID-19 case of BA.4 variant in the state through whole genome sequencing done at the State Public Health Laboratory.
This is the second case of BA.4 variant reported in the country. A case was reported in Telangana on May 20. However, officials here said that a confirmation on the finding was awaited from the National Centre for Disease Control.
The patient is a 19-year-old girl living in a four-member household in a gated community in Navalur in Chengalpattu district. She and her mother got themselves tested after developing flu-like symptoms. They tested positive on May 9. Their samples were subsequently sent by the health department for whole genome sequencing.