Omicron Cases In India Rise To 38 With 3 More States Reporting First Infections

New Delhi: A fully-vaccinated man, who was visiting relatives in Chandigarh, has become the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID in the city.

“He was currently living in Italy. He had come to see some of his relatives here recently. His report for whole genomic sequencing has been received on December 11 and found positive for Omicron variant,” Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, Dr Suman Singh told PTI over the phone.

A statement issued by the administration said that he has been kept in isolation for the last 11 days and underwent a second COVID test on Sunday.

While he tested negative in the first COVID test, samples of five of his seven family members were found infected, one result is awaited, The Tribune reported.

Andhra Pradesh and Kerala also reported their first infections while one each was found positive for the variant in Maharashtra and Karnataka on Sunday, taking the total Omicron cases in India to 38.

All the five new patients are foreign returnees.

Omicron cases have so far been detected in Maharashtra (18), Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Gujarat (3), Kerala (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union territories of Delhi (2) and Chandigarh (1).