New Delhi: Fresh cases of Omicron reported from Five states – West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, on Sunday as India’s Omicron tally neared 450-mark.
Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reported their first cases of COVID Omicron variant. Himachal registerd one fresh case of Omicron while eight cases of the new variant were registerd in Madhya Pradesh.
In Odisha, four people who returned to the state from foreign countries were found to be infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Two of the new patients returned from Nigeria, while the other two came back from UAE.
Andhra Pradesh reported two more cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 The two new cases were reported from Anantapuram and Prakasam districts, and they had arrived from foreign countries.
Meanwhile, West Bengal logged four fresh Omicron cases after four returnees from the United Kingdom tested positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
This comes after the government, in its morning update, said India’s Omicron tally detected across 17 states and union territories climbed to 422 with Maharashtra reporting the maximum number of cases of the new COVID variant. This did not include Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh – which has now become the 18th and 19th state in the country to record Omicron cases.
MADHYA PRADESH
Madhya Pradesh on Sunday reported first cases of Omicron variant. Eight cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been found at Indore in Madhya Pradesh, state Home Narottam Mishra said. “Eight Omicron cases have been found in Indore. Out of these patients, six have recovered and have been discharged while two are undergoing treatment, Mishra, who is the state government’s spokesman, said.
He said around 3,000 people recently returned to Indore from abroad and 26 of them were found to be infected with the coronavirus. “Omicron was confirmed in the genome sequencing of eight of these people,” he said. The samples of these people, who returned to the state’s industrial hub Indore from different countries, were taken between December 17 and 21, according to officials.
These infected people included two men aged 20 and 30 years, who came from New York (US) on December 14 and 19 respectively, a 23-year-old woman who arrived from London (UK) on December 14, two women aged 33 and 26 who returned from Tanzania (east Africa) on December 19, a 33-year-old woman who returned from Ghana (west Africa) on December 17, and two men aged 26 and 31 years, who arrived from Dubai on December 13 and 18 respectively, they said.
On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh reported 42 new cases of coronavirus, raising the state’s infection tally to 7,93,655, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,532, an official earlier said. The state had 232 active COVID-19 cases, the official added.
ODISHA
Four people who returned to Odisha from foreign countries were found to be infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Two of the new patients returned from Nigeria, while the other two came back from UAE, said Director of Health Service (DHS) Bijay Mohapatra. With this, the state’s omicron tally rose to eight, he said.
Odisha reported the first cases of Omicron variant on December 21 as two persons who returned from foreign countries — Nigeria and Qatar — were found to be infected. On December 23, two more cases of omicron were found as two people who returned from Nigeria tested positive.
One person, who was among the four new cases, has already tested negative, the official said. As per the state government’s directive, all foreign returnees from “at-risk” as well as other countries are being tested, and the samples of those found positive are being sent for genome sequencing, he said.
ANDHRA PRADESH
Andhra Pradesh reported two more cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, taking the tally to six, official sources said, news agency PTI reported.
The two new cases were reported from Anantapuram and Prakasam districts, and both persons arrived from foreign countries, the Director of Public Health said in a statement.
A 48 year-old male who recently came from South Africa to Hyderabad and then to Ongole on December 16 tested COVID-19 positive on December 20. His samples were sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, for genome sequencing, it said. He was declared positive of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on December 25.
In the other case, a 51 year-old man came from UK and landed in Bangaluru on December 18. His samples were collected and sent to the CCMB after he tested positive for COVID-19. His samples tested positive for the Omicron variant.
Both the patients are healthy and in quarantine under the close observation of the health department, the statement said, adding that all the primary and secondary contacts of both persons were tested and found to be negative for the virus.
WEST BENGAL
At least four returnees from the United Kingdom on Sunday tested positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, following which they were placed under isolation at a city hospital, a senior health official said.
Two men aged 44 and 24, a 31-year-old woman, and a five-year-old boy are among the new patients. They have been admitted to Beliaghata ID Hospital, he said.
Their samples for genome sequencing will be collected on Monday, the official said.
So far, six people, including a medical practitioner, have tested for the Omicron strain of coronavirus in West Bengal.
HIMACHAL PRADESH
Himachal Pradesh reported first case of the Omicron variant after a woman who returned from Canada tested positive for the new variant.