Maharashtra reports 8 new Omicron cases, tally rises to 48

Out of the eight new patients- six are from Pune while the other two are from Mumbai and Thane, respectively

New Delhi: Maharashtra on Friday (December 17) reported eight new cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus. After the addition, the state’s Omicron tally reached 48.

Out of the eight patients- six are from Pune while the other two are from Mumbai and Thane, respectively. All of them are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The patients have a travel history. Out of them, four had travelled to Dubai, while has come from the US and one from Nigeria.

On the other hand, two infected patients are the close contacts of the Dubai returnees who were tested positive in the first week of December.

Seven out of eight new patients are asymptomatic. One has exhibited mild symptoms and two are hospitalised, with efforts to track the contacts of all the infected.

Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1.

Meanwhile, the southern state of Kerala on Friday reported two new Omicron cases. The Omicron tally in the state has now reached to 7.

The new variant of coronavirus was detected in an elderly couple who arrived in Kochi from UAE.

Earlier in the day, ten new cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in Delhi, taking the total number of cases of the variant in the capital to 20.

A total of 10 people, out of these 20, have been discharged.