Omicron cases in India reach 12 after 7 test positive in Maharashtra

Maharashtra on Sunday reported seven more cases of Omicron, taking the state total of confirmed infections due to the COVID-19 variant to 12. Four people who returned from foreign tours and three of their close contacts tested positive for Omicron variant, according to a Maharashtra health official. The seven people belong to the Pune district and include a woman who came from Nigeria along with her two daughters to meet her brother in adjoining Pimpri Chinchwad area, the official said. Her brother and his two daughters have also tested positive for the variant, he added.

Another case is of a man from Pune who returned from Finland in the last week of last month, the official said.

Also Read: Mumbai airport to quarantine South Africa arrivals, conduct genome sequencing

Earlier, a 33-year-old man from the state’s Thane district tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The man, a marine engineer, is currently undergoing treatment at a COVID-19 care centre in Kalyan town, located about 50 km from the state capital Mumbai.

The Dombivli resident had arrived in Delhi from South Africa on November 23 before he took a flight to Mumbai.

India has so far reported 12 cases of the strain, which was first detected in South Africa last month and declared a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO). Delhi on Sunday reported its first case of the Omicron variant, while Karnataka and Gujarat have reported one and two cases respectively.

Also Read:  Omicron variant symptoms: Fatigue, mild fever and a scratchy throat

In another worrying development, two women publishers from Pune tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a literary meet, in Nashik, Maharashtra, with thousands in attendance for the three-day event from December 3 to 5. Officials say they have begun tracing those who came in contact with the two women amid concerns that several attendees and dignitaries at the literary event had flouted Covid guidelines, by not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing, at times. 

(With PTI inputs)