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Omicron in India: With 7 more cases found in Maharashtra, India's tally touches 12

The World Health Organization has classified Omicron, discovered in South Africa on November 25, as a "variant of concern". The WHO has encouraged countries to prepare by speeding up vaccines and putting mitigation strategies to maintain essential health services.

Omicron in India With 7 more cases found in Maharashtra India tally touches 12 gcw
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New Delhi, First Published Dec 5, 2021, 8:05 PM IST

Seven persons - four foreign returnees and three of their close contacts - were discovered positive with the new Covid variant, Omicron, in Maharashtra on Sunday, bringing the nation's total number of such instances to 12.

A 44-year-old lady from Lagos, Nigeria, who came to see her brother in Pimpri-Chinchwad with her two kids on November 24, 2021, was determined to be infected with the novel form by the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Omicron infected the lady's 45-year-old brother, as well as his two-and-a-half-year-old and seven-year-old children. A 47-year-old guy from Pune also tested positive for the variant.

With this, Maharashtra's Omicron tally has risen to eight, while India's has risen to twelve. On Sunday, Delhi announced its first incidence of the new coronavirus's Omicron strain. Satyendar Jain stated that a guy of Indian descent arrived in Delhi from Tanzania a few days ago and tested positive for Covid-19 with the Omicron strain. Previously, the new strain was discovered in Maharashtra's Dombivli, Gujarat, and two states in Karnataka.

Also Read | India reports 5th Omicron case with Tanzania-returnee testing positive in Delhi

The World Health Organization has classified Omicron, discovered in South Africa on November 25, as a "variant of concern". The WHO has encouraged countries to prepare by speeding up vaccines and putting mitigation strategies to maintain essential health services. "Omicron contains an extraordinary number of spike mutations, some of which are alarming for their possible influence on the pandemic's course," stated the WHO in a statement.

All travellers from 'at-risk' nations are thoroughly screened and tested at international airports across India. Under central standards, all travellers from such countries must undergo RT-PCR testing upon arrival. To leave the airport, the individual's test result must be negative.

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