With four more people testing positive for Omicron infection on Sunday, India’s tally of new variant of Covid-19 has climbed to 38. For the first time, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Chandigarh reported Omicron cases.
Till now the new SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern” in the country has been detected in Maharashtra (18), Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Andhra Pradesh (1), Delhi (2), Chandigarh (1), and Kerala (1).
However, bringing major relief, 15 people infected with the Omicron variant were tested negative and were discharged from Government hospitals in Rajasthan and Maharashtra on Friday, health officials in the two States said.
The Maharashtra State Government banned large gatherings and imposed other restrictions within Mumbai as its yet another district, Nagpur, reported its first Omicron case on Sunday with a 40-year-old man testing positive for this variant of coronavirus after returning from a West African country.
Of the 18 cases of Omicron variant in Maharashtra, five have been reported from Mumbai, 10 from Pimpri Chinchwad, and one each from Kalyan Dombivli, Pune and Nagpur.
Meanwhile, a third case of Omicron was detected in Karnataka. A 34-year-old returnee from South Africa has tested positive. He is isolated and being treated in a Government hospital.
In Chandigarh, a 20-year-old man from Italy, who landed in India on November 22 and was diagnosed with Covid on December 1, has tested positive for the Omicron variant. He is fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine.