New Delhi: Maharashtra reported seven new cases of Omicron on Friday, taking the total count in the state to 17.
According to the state health department, out of the seven new Omicron cases, three are from Mumbai and four from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
Of these seven people, four are asymptomatic, while three have mild symptoms. Four patients are fully vaccinated, one person has received only a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine, one patient is a 3-year-old child and the other one is completely unvaccinated.
This development comes after Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, addressed a press briefing in the evening, where he said that India has a total of 25 Omicron cases and all the detected cases have mild symptoms. Omicron cases account for less than 0.04 per cent of total variants detected, he said.
Since December 1, 93 international passengers tested positive for Covid-19. Out of them, 83 are from countries that have been designated as "at-risk" in the wake of the Omicron breakout and 13 from other countries, he said.
“Only two countries had reported Omicron cases till November 24. Now, 59 countries have reported cases of the new Omicron variant. These 59 countries have reported 2,936 Omicron cases so far. Apart from this, 78,054 probable cases have been detected. Their genome sequencing is underway,” he added.
The government also issued warning about declining mask usage and safety norms. "WHO is warning against the decline in mask usage. Global scene of Omicron is disturbing... We are now operating at a risky and unacceptable level. We have to remember that both vaccines and masks are important," said Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog member for Health.
However, with the seven new cases of Omicron variant detected in Maharashtra, the tally in the country reached 32.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday reported 695 new Covid cases, 631 recoveries and 12 deaths.