Omicron cases in India now stand at 126; Maharashtra, Kerala report more patients
New Delhi : The official number of identified Omicron COVID cases in India rose to 126 on Saturday after Karnataka and Kerala reported six and four cases respectively. Three others tested positive for Omicron in Maharashtra.
As per official data, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories -- Maharashtra (43), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (8), Gujarat (7), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
Of the six new cases in Karnataka, one person has a travel history of the UK, while five others are from COVID-19 clusters in two educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada district, officials said.
"Two cluster outbreaks of COVID have been reported from two educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada today: Cluster 1: 14 cases (of which 4 are Omicron). Cluster 2: 19 cases (1 is Omicron). A traveller from UK has also tested positive for Omicron," Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet.
In Kerala, out of four cases, two were found in Thiruvananthapuram in patients aged 17 and 44. One case was detected in Malappuram in a person aged 37 and another was a 49-year-old patient from Thrissur district.
"The 17-year-old patient in Thiruvananthapuram came from the UK while the 44-year-old reached the state from Tunisia in a chartered flight. The patient in Malappuram came from Tanzania while the Thrissur native came from Kenya," Health Minister Veena George said in a release.
In Maharashtra, a couple and their 13-year-old daughter have tested positive for the Omicron variant. They had returned to Satara in western Maharashtra from Uganda, officials said.
Their other daughter, who is five years old, tested positive for COVID-19 but not for the variant.
The Centre has already issued a warning that in case of community transmission, Omicron will spread much faster than the Delta variant of coronavirus.
People have been asked to avoid all non-essential travel and mass gatherings and keep New Year celebrations at low intensity.
