How Omicron is spreading so fast in Delhi, Mumbai. Here's what data reveals

BMC data pertaining to a specific batch of samples sent for genome sequencing claims Omicron has overtaken Delta as out of those 282 samples,55% were positive for Omicron.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday revealed that Omicron has overtaken Delta in a specific group of samples which were sent for genome sequencing. This comes as experts opined that Omicron in India has begun to replace Delta. However, the health ministry on Thursday said that Delta still was the dominant strain in India.

A healthcare worker collects a swab sample of a passenger for the Covid-19 testing at New Delhi Railway Station. 

As much as 55 per cent out of 282 samples of coronavirus patients from Mumbai, sent for genome sequencing, have tested positive for the Omicron variant, the BMC said. This was the seventh batch of samples sent to a lab at the Kasturba Hospital of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Out of 282 samples, 156 (55 per cent) were found to be of Omicron variant, 89 (32 per cent) of Delta Derivative and 37 (13 per cent) of Delta variant.

"The trend of an increasing number of Covid-19 cases shows that it is due to Omicron, which is replacing Delta in India and globally as well," official sources told news agency ANI.

Omicron, first detected in South Africa, is known to be more transmissible than other variants of the virus. With its immuno-evasive nature, it is infecting vaccinated people as well, though the severity of the cases is mild.

The first cases detected in India were of foreign origin clearly establishing the fact that they got the variant abroad. But now people without any travel history are testing positive for the Omicron variant. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said Omicron is spreading in the community.

The trend is not exclusive to Delhi. In Mumbai too, people without travel history are testing positive for Omicron. According to BMC's Thursday data, As many as 141 Mumbai residents who had not travelled abroad recently tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus. BMC has not confirmed the community spread of Omicron. Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI that the BMC would be sending 375 more samples for genome sequencing to check if there has been a community spread of the Omicron variant. Community spread can be confirmed only after the report arrives, Kakani added.

(With agency inputs)