India Records 1st Omicron Death From Rajasthan: Health Ministry

Bhubaneswar: The death of a septuagenarian after recovering from Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Rajasthan is the first casualty of the variant in the country, according to Health Ministry.

The 72-year-old man from Udaipur in Rajasthan had initially tested positive for COVID on December 15 and his sample was sent for genome sequencing after he was admitted in a hospital. He had comorbidities, like diabetes and hypertension, among others.

Following treatment in the hospital for 5 days, he tested negative for COVID on December 21. Earlier, he had taken both doses of COVID vaccine and had no significant contact and travel history.

The genome sequencing results came on December 25 and he was found to carry the Omicron variant. He died six days later on December 31.

The Health Ministry on Wednesday stated that his demise will be counted as Omicron death. The health department of Rajasthan government has also confirmed it as Omicron death.

So far, total 2,135 cases of Omicron variant have been registered in the country with Maharashtra reporting 653 cases, followed by Delhi with 464 cases.