Omicron cases in Maharashtra rise to 17 as Mumbai, Pune report fresh infections

The state health department said that the four Omicron patients from Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad were contacts of a Nigerian woman who had tested positive for the new variant of concern recently.

The total cases of Omicron variant in Maharashtra rose to 17 after Mumbai and Pune reported seven fresh confirmed infections on Friday, the state health department said. While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recorded three Omicron cases in Mumbai, four cases were reported from Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad area. The three Omicron patients in Mumbai have recent travel history of Tanzania, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Out of the seven Omicron patients, four have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine while one has been administered with a single shot. (File Photo / HT)

The health department said that the four Omicron patients from Pimpri-Chinchwad were contacts of a Nigerian woman who had tested positive for the new variant of concern recently.

Out of the seven Omicron patients, four have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine while one has been administered with a single shot. One patient identified in Mumbai’s Dharavi area is unvaccinated and another is a three and half year old kid, thus ineligible for vaccination, according to the health department. Four of them are asymptomatic and three are having mild symptoms.

Earlier today, the BMC said that the patient who had returned from Tanzania was asymptomatic and was admitted to Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai. The patient, aged 48 and male, was not vaccinated against Covid-19. The Omicron patient who arrived from London last week is a 25-year-old male and the South Africa returnee is a 37-year-old male and a resident of Gujarat. Both of them are vaccinated against the virus.

The update comes amid the Centre’s warning over the decline in usage of face masks across the country amid the emergence of the Omicron variant. Dr VK Paul, member (health), NITI Aayog, told a regular press briefing that people are operating at a “risky and unacceptable” level, stressing that both masks and vaccines are important for protection against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

“Mask usage is declining in India. We have to remember that both vaccines and masks are important. As far as protection capability is concerned, we are now operating at a risky and unacceptable level. We should learn from the global situation,” Paul said.