Omicron: India tally touches 21

PUNE, Dec 5
As many as seven new samples in Maharashtra were found to be infected with the Omicront variant of Coro-navirus disease on Sunday.
Moreover, four members of a family and five others from Adarsh Nagar in Jaipur tested positive for Omicron on Sunday, after returning from South Africa, said officials.
With this, the total numbers of cases related to the new strain in Maharashtra and Rajasthan have touched eight and nine respectively, while the Nationwide tally reached 21.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the new Omicron cases, the Rajasthan Government imposed a curfew in Rohisa area of Nagaur.
Among those whose samples turned positive with the new variant were a 44-year old woman, who had come from Nigeria to Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune, her two daughters, her brother and his two daughters. A 47-year old man, who had travelled to Finland last month, was also found to be positive with the new strain.
Earlier, a Health official in Pune said four persons who returned from foreign tours and three of their close contacts have tested positive for Omicron variant. In India, the first two cases of Omicron, that was first detected in South Africa, were reported in Kar- nataka.
On Saturday, the third and the fourth case of the infection were reported from Gujarat's Jamnagar and Maharashtra's Dom-bivli, respectively.
The fifth person to test positive for the variant was a Tanzania returnee in Delhi.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the first case of B.1.1.529 infection was reported from South Africa on November 25. This was from a specimen collected on November 9. Soon after, the global health body camed the strain as Omicron and classified it as a 'variant of concern'. Since then, dozens of countries have imposed travel restrictions on southern African nations even as the variant has been confirmed in 23 countries. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the numbers are likely to rise.
India has also added several countries to the list from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in the country, including post-arrival testing for the infection. Hindustan Times