Omicron cases in India reach 143 as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala report new infections

New Delhi: Omicron cases in India jumped to 143 on Saturday after Karnataka and Kerala reported six and four cases, respectively, while eight other people in Maharashtra tested positive for the coronavirus variant.

Additionally, in Telangana, the number of Omicron cases rose to 20 with 12 more people testing positive for the new variant of the coronavirus on Saturday, the PTI news agency reported.

According to central and state officials, cases of Omicron cases in India have been detected in 11 states and union territories – Maharashtra (48), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (7), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).

New cases in Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala

A state health department bulletin informed that of the 12 new cases in Telangana, two were passengers from countries declared “at-risk” by the Center, while 10 were from other countries.

The samples from three people are expected for their Omicron variant status, he informed.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, a couple and their 13-year-old daughter tested positive for the Omicron variant after returning from Uganda to Satara. Their other daughter, who is five, has tested positive for COVID-19 but not for the variant.

According to authorities, four cases among the eight new Omicron patients were detected following RT-PCR tests at Mumbai airport. One of them is from Mumbai, another from Jalgaon in northern Maharashtra, and two others from Chhattisgarh and Kerala, respectively.

Two of them had been to Africa, one to Tanzania and another to the United Kingdom. All four are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, PTI health officials said.

Another new Omicron patient was a 17-year-old girl from the city of Pune who had come into close contact with an international traveler.

Of the six new cases in Karnataka, one is a passenger from the United Kingdom, while five others are from COVID-19 clusters at two educational institutions in the Dakshina Kannada district.

Their travel history or contacts with international travelers are being verified, officials said, as reported by PTI.

“Two COVID outbreaks were reported today in two educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada: Group 1: 14 cases (including 4 Omicron). Group 2: 19 cases (1 is Omicron). A traveler from the UK has also tested positive for Omicron, ”Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet.

In Kerala, two cases of the new variant of the coronavirus were detected in Thiruvananthapuram in patients aged 17 and 44 years, while one case was detected in Malappuram in a person aged 37 and another was a patient of 49 years old from Thrissur district.

“The 17-year-old patient in Thiruvananthapuram was from the UK while the 44-year-old patient reached the state from Tunisia on a chartered flight. Malappuram’s patient was from Tanzania while the native of Thrissur was from Kenya, ”Health Minister Veena George said in a statement.

Center Advises Avoiding Non-Essential Travel

The Center has warned that it is likely that the spread of the new variant will overtake the Delta variant where there is community transmission.

People have been advised to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and to keep New Year’s celebrations low.

India’s first two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Karnataka on December 2, shortly after the heavily mutated version of the coronavirus was first reported in South Africa on November 24.

In a worrying development, Delhi recorded 86 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest one-day peak in more than five months.

The total number of patients infected with the latest variant of the coronavirus in Delhi jumped 12 on Friday to reach 22.

Amid this COVID situation, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured the people on Saturday that his government was ready to tackle the Omicron variant and advised citizens not to panic.

Other states have also said they are preparing to deal with a possible increase in Omicron cases.

Odisha has provided sufficient hospital beds, medical oxygen, and medicine to cope with any emergency, state public health director Niranjan Mishra informed.

“No one can rule out the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19 with the increase in Omicron cases. We are well prepared to deal with the situation, ”the official said.

Odisha has not recorded any cases of Omicron so far, however, neighboring Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have reported the infections.

WHO Emphasizes Urgent Scaling-Up Of Public Health And Social Measures

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Saturday underlined the urgent intensification of public health and social measures to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for the WHO South-East Asia Region, said: “From what we know so far, Omicron appears to be spreading faster than the Delta variant, this which has been attributed to the increase in the number of cases across the world in recent months ”.

Emerging data from South Africa suggests an increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, she added, saying there is still limited data on the clinical severity associated with Omicron.

She stressed that the capacity of health care, including intensive care beds, availability of oxygen, adequate health personnel, and backup capacity must be reviewed and strengthened at all levels.

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