Maharashtra detects 8 more Omicron COVID cases; India's tally rises to 61

New Delhi : Omicron cases spreading at unprecedented rate globally raising concerns. The detection of eight more new Omicron COVID cases in the state of Maharashtra takes the state’s tally of cases to 28, the highest number of cases reported anywhere in the country. This takes the tally in the country to 61 till Wednesday.

Seven out of the eight cases were reported in Mumbai and one in Vasai Virar. The patients have no International travel history, but did indulge in domestic travel with one traveling to Bangalore and one to Delhi.

Maharashtra was the worst affected state at the beginning of the pandemic, reporting the maximum number of Covid cases for a long time. The state has curbs in place to prevent the spread of the variant including mandatory institution quarantine for people from ultra-risk countries and mandatory RT-PCR negative results of international passengers from at-risk countries. Nine patients out of the total in the state have been discharged from the hospital while 19 remain under observation.

Delhi on Tuesday detected four new Omicron cases taking the national capital’s tally to six. Health Minister Satyendra Jain informed that all cases were mild and asymptomatic with the first case already discharged from the hospital.

Experts annotated that India could see a massive rise in the number of infections in the coming months due to increased transmissibility in the new variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that many countries around the world can see a rise in the number of cases as Omicron spreads rapidly throughout the world.

India reported 6,984 new cases in the last 24 hours taking the total active caseload in the country to 87,562. Active cases account for 0.25 per cent of the total positive cases reported in the country, lowest since March.

The country has now administered 134.61 crore vaccine doses under the nationwide vaccination campaign. The Health Minister on Tuesday informed that 55.52 per cent of the eligible adult population has been fully vaccinated with 87 percent people receiving the first dose of the vaccine.

Experts have called for booster shots amidst signs of Omicron evading immunity provided by two vaccine doses in many studies conducted around the world. The regulatory authorities are yet to decide on booster dose and vaccination for children with current focus on achieving 100% coverage of dual doses in the eligible adult population.