New Delhi, December 27
India on Monday reported over 150 fresh omicron infections with Goa and Manipur reporting their first case as the total number of this latest version of COVID-19 touched nearly 600.
With the rise in cases, the Center issued a fresh advisory to all states and union territories, asking them not to let the guard down.
According to the morning data of the Union Health Ministry, 156 new cases of Omicron were reported, taking the number of such cases to 578. However, out of 578 people who contracted the infection, 151 people have recovered or migrated.
578 cases have been detected in 19 states and union territories, with Delhi reporting the highest number of 142 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 141, Kerala 57, Gujarat 49, Rajasthan 43 and Telangana 41.
As per the data updated at 8 am, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India rose to 3,47,93,333, while the active cases declined to 75,841.
The death toll has risen to 4,79,997 with 315 fresh deaths, the data said.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that states and union territories may consider imposing need-based, local restrictions and restrictions to control crowds during the festive season. Several states have already banned gatherings in addition to night curfews.
A 48-year-old man who returned from Tanzania tested positive for the Omicron variant in Manipur, making him the first patient of the strain in the northeastern state.
The Directorate of Health Services in Imphal said that the resident of Imphal West district had recently returned via Delhi. He tested positive on the eighth day of his return to India.
Officials said that he has been kept in isolation at the Government Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal and has not shown any serious symptoms.
Three other family members of the person have also tested positive for COVID-19, but their genome sequencing results are yet to come.
An eight-year-old boy who arrived from Britain in Panaji was confirmed to be infected with Omicron.
The Delhi government on Sunday decided to re-impose night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am from Monday in view of the rise in daily cases and a significant increase in the positivity rate. As per a graded response action plan, a ‘yellow’ alert will be in place, with a range of restrictions.
According to the Omicron version, Maharashtra reported 26 new cases, including 11 in Mumbai, taking the number of people infected with the new strain in the state to 167.
During the day, Haryana reported two more cases of omicron type, taking the number of such cases in the state to 12.
In the wake of Omicron’s case, the Haryana government has imposed night curfew and ban on gatherings from Saturday. It also said that people eligible for vaccination but not fully vaccinated will be banned from entering other crowded places including shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants and grain markets from January 1.
Three more persons tested positive for Omicron in Uttarakhand, taking the number of people infected with the latest version to four in the state.
One of the three cases is a 28-year-old man who had returned from Yemen and tested positive for the Omicron variant in Haridwar.
The two others are a 74-year-old male and a 65-year-old female, who had come in contact with a family who had returned from Dubai and tested positive for the strain in Dehradun.
Gujarat reported 24 new cases of the Omicron variant, taking the tally to 73.
In Indore, the Health Department has sent samples of 164 people who came in contact with nine people found infected with the new Omicron variant.
Out of these 164 people, if a person tests positive for the corona virus, then the sample of that person will be sent to the National Center for Disease Control for genome sequencing to find out whether the person is infected with the Omicron variant or not, Indore’s Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr BS Satya said.
He said that out of the nine people found to be infected with Omicron after returning from abroad, seven have recovered and gone back home from the hospital.
“The other two patients are admitted in different hospitals here and their condition is stable,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government, due to its expertise in whole genome sequencing, requested the Center to allow the state to declare the omicron confirmed cases as a special case instead of waiting for the report from the National Institute of Virology. have done it.
Reiterating the demand for necessary approvals, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramaniam claimed that as long as the NIV confirms the samples, those who test positive in the state are discharged after treatment.
Subramaniam said that 97 people have been detected with S-gene drop recently in Tamil Nadu, NIV confirmed the presence of omicron variant in 34 of which 18 have already been discharged while 16 are undergoing treatment. Used to be. Used to be. PTI