Rajasthan reports nine cases of Omicron variant; tally surpasses 20 across India

Four among the nine infected by the Omicron variant in Jaipur are returnees from South Africa.

Omicron cases rose across the country on Sunday as nine more people were detected with the variant of the viral infection in Rajasthan’s Jaipur. With the recent detection of cases, the national tally crossed 20. Earlier in the day, Maharashtra detected seven more cases of the Omicron variant. Maharashtra and Jaipur both have nine confirmed cases of Omicron variant.

Four among the nine infected by the Omicron variant in Jaipur are returnees from South Africa. They were admitted to the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences - a dedicated Covid-19 facility. Officials said that the other five who were infected are being admitted (Himanshu Vyas / Hindustan Times)

Four among the nine infected by the Omicron variant in Jaipur are returnees from South Africa. They were admitted to the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences - a dedicated Covid-19 facility. Officials said that the other five who were infected are being admitted, according to a report by HT. State health secretary Vaibhav Galaria said that contact tracing is on and many people who came in contact with the infected were also tested. He said that samples were collected from 34 people who came in contact with them and 25 of them were negative.

Earlier, one case of Omicron variant was detected in Delhi. The first two cases were detected in Karnataka following which cases were reported from Maharashtra and Gujarat.

A report from HT said that the patient from Maharashtra was responding well to the treatment.

Maharashtra’s cases on Sunday were reported from Pune district, six are from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and one each from Pune city and rural parts of the district.

Three among the six patients from the PCMC area recently visited Nigeria’s Lagos and are from the same family. Another man recently traveled to Finland.

Surge in cases due to the Omicron variant across Europe and parts of Africa have led to travel bans and economic uncertainty across economies. The variant was first reported from South Africa, Botswana and other neighbouring nations in that region. The first case of B.1.1.529 infection was reported from South Africa on November 25.

(with inputs from Sachin Saini)