In a significant medical development, seven patients with new Omicron variants — four persons with B.A 4 variant and three others with B.A.5 variants — were found for the first time in Pune, even as the State recorded 529 new cases of Covid-19 during the last 24 hours.
Quoting the latest report Whole Genomic Sequencing conducted in coordination with the B.J. Medical College Pune, the State Public Health Department said here on Saturday: “We have found 4 patients of B.A. 4 variants and 3 patients of B.A. 5 variants in Pune".
The B. A. 4 and 5 are new variants of the Omicron sub lineage, which increases the rate of transmission of the virus to certain extent according to international experience.
“The new variant has been identified in a WGS conducted by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and has been confirmed by the Indian Biological Data Center (IBDC) Faridabad,” the Public Health department said in its daily medical bulletin.
According to the medical bulletin, all the seven patients are from Pune city. They were found positive for the new variant between May 4 and May 18, 2022.
Of the patients, four are male, while three are female. Of them, 4 are aged above 50 years, while two are in the age group of 20 to 40 years. The remaining one is aged below 10 years.
Two of these patients have a history of traveling to South Africa, Belgium, while three have travelled to the Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka. The two patients have no travel history.
All the infected patients — except a nine 9-year-old patient — have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine while one has also taken a booster.
All of the patients had mild symptoms of Covid-19. “No one needs to be hospitalized and treated successfully in-home isolation,” a state Public Health Department official said.
In a related development, 529 new Covid-19 infections were recorded in various parts of Maharashtra on Saturday.
A day after the state recorded 536 infections, the daily cases dropped marginally to 529. With fresh infections, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state rose from 78,84,865 to 78,85,394.
No fresh Covid 19-related deaths were reported on Saturday. As a result, the total number of deaths registered in the state since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the state in March 2020 stood static at 1,47,858.
With the fresh 330 cases, the total number of cases in Mumbai mounted from 10,63,351 to 10,63,681.
As 325 Covid-19 patients were discharged from the hospitals across the state after full recovery, the total number of people discharged from the hospitals since the second week of March 2020 increased from 77,34,439 to 77,34, 764. The recovery rate in the state stood static at 98.09 per cent.
The number of “active cases” in the state rose from 2m568 to2,772.. The fatality rate in the state stood static at 1.87 per cent.
The active cases in Mumbai rose from 1,797 t0 1,929, while the active cases in Pune increased 308 to 318. The active cases in Thane rose from 270 to 310, while the active cases in Raigad district went up from 56 to 72.
Of the 8,08,64,421 samples sent to various laboratories across the state so far, 78,85,394 have tested positive (9.75 per cent) for COVID-19 until Saturday.