India's Omicron count climbs to 38 as Andhra, Kerala report first cases

New Delhi, December 13: India’s tally of Omicron cases rose to 38 as five more people tested positive for the news variant - one each in Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Kerala.

 

Maharashtra's Nagpur has reported its first case of Omicron -- a 40-year-old man who came back from South Africa via Delhi. He tested positive at the airport on December 6 and his genome test report from the National Institute of Virology came today. This was Maharashtra's 18th case of Omicron.

 

Kerala has also reported its first case of Omicron. The patient had returned from the UK to Kochi on December 6. He had tested Covid-19 positive on December 8, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.

 

In Chandigarh, the patient was identified as a 20-year-old who came from Italy on November 22. He was found Covid-19 positive on December 1 and subsequent testing revealed he was infected with Omicron. In Andhra Pradesh, a man who returned from Ireland, tested positive for the Omicron strain, which has raised concerns of a fresh outbreak across the world. He is currently in Vishakhapatnam.

 

 

 

The Karnataka patient was identified as a 34-year-old male returning from South Africa. He is isolated and being treated in a government hospital. Five primary and 15 secondary contacts have been traced and samples sent for testing said the state health minister.

 

States including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat have reported cases of the new Covid variant. Maharashtra has seen the maximum number of cases.

 

The Omicron strain said to be “highly transmissible", has spread to at least 59 nations. The UK, Denmark, and South Africa are the top three countries with the highest number of Omicron cases. Last week, the World Health Organisation warned nations in the Asia-Pacific region to boost healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people in preparation for a surge.

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