When it comes to Omicron, India is now seeing new bans, fake reports and a daily increase in cases. No deaths have yet been reported in India. However, UK reported its first Omicron death yesterday, December 13.
Here are the latest updates on Omicron in India:
1. MAHARASHTRA REPORTS 2 NEW OMICRON CASES
As per a report released by the National Institute of Virology on December 13, there are two new Omicron cases in Mumbai. The first patient is a 33-year-old man from Latur, and the second patient is a 39-year-old woman from Pune. Both patients were fully vaccinated and have a travel history to Dubai. The overall tally of Omicron cases in Maharashtra is now at 20, said the Health Department.
Maharashtra reports two new patients infected with Omicron variant of coronavirus; overall tally goes up to 20: Health department
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 13, 2021
2. FIRST OMICRON PATIENT IN DELHI DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL; 4 NEW CASES EMERGE
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed the media that four new Omicron cases have been detected in the national capital. Jain said, "Four new Omicron cases have been detected, taking the total number of cases to 6." All patients are admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital. The total number of Omicron cases in Delhi are 6 now.
Four new Omicron cases detected, taking the total number of cases to 6. Of the 6 cases, 1 patient has been discharged from the hospital. Currently, 35 Covid positive patients & 3 suspected cases admitted to LNJP hospital: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Omicron cases pic.twitter.com/Bwlz15YVCI
— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2021
The first identified patient of the Omicron Variant from Delhi, a 37-year-old man, originally from Ranchi, has been discharged from Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital.
Delhi's first patient of Omicron variant of COVID-19, 37-year-old man from Ranchi, discharged from Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital: Officials
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 14, 2021
3. 4 ARRESTED IN BENGALURU FOR PROVIDING FAKE RT-PCTR REPORT TO FIRST OMICRON PATIENT
Karnataka police arrested four people for providing a false RT-PCR report to a South African national, who later turned out to be India’s first Omicron patient. The 66-year-old man was in quarantine, but managed to leave the country through Dubai with the help of the fake negative RT-PCR report. The man arrived in India on November 20, and authorities had informed the staff at the Shangri La hotel in Bengaluru, where he was quarantined, to ensure that he did not leave the hotel.
However, the man wanted to leave early, and so he contacted two of his employees. The two employees then approached a private lab in Bengaluru and bribed the technicians to provide a fake negative RT-PCR report. The man received the fake report on November 26, submitted it to the hotel and airport authorities, boarded a flight to South Africa via Dubai, and got out of India. On December 2, the man’s genome sequencing results returned and they showed that he was one of the first people in the country to test positive for the Omicron variant.
The two staff working at a private lab in Bengaluru, and the two employees were then arrested by the Karnataka police.
4. FOURTH CASE DETECTED IN GUJARAT FROM SOUTH AFRICA
A fourth case of the Omicron variant was detected in Gujarat on December 13. The patient is a 42-year-old man from Surat who recently returned from South Africa. Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Health, Ashish Naik said, "He arrived at Delhi airport from South Africa via Kenya and Abu Dhabi on December 3. He had tested negative for coronavirus." The patient again tested negative on December 4. Naik further added that after a brief isolation in the hospital, the man tested positive for Covid-19 on December 8. His samples were then sent for genome sequencing, the results arrived on December 13, and showed that he was infected with the Omicron variant.
A person from Surat who recently returned from South Africa found positive for #Omicron variant of #COVID19: Dr Ashish Naik, Deputy Health Commissioner, Surat Municipal Corporation
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021
5. IIT-DELHI DEVELOPS RT-PCR TEST FOR OMICRON DETECTION
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi's Kusuma School of Biological Sciences have developed an RT-PCR based assay for the detection of the Omicron variant. As of now, the identification of the Omicron variant is done using 'next-generation sequencing-based methods' which produces results over three days. IIT-D's RT-PCR-based assay will be able to detect the Omicron variant in 90 minutes.
6. TAMIL NADU BANS GATHERINGS ON BEACHES ON DECEMBER 31 AND JANUARY 1
As part of its Covid-19 prevention measures, the Tamil Nadu government announced on December 13 a ban on all public gatherings at all beaches in the state on December 31 and January 1. An official release quoting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, "There will be no access to people to all the beaches on December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022, as part of the measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid."
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police registered an FIR for flouting Covid rules, against organisers of a concert by singer AP Dhillon at an upscale hotel in Mumbai's Santacruz on December 12, Sunday.