India's Omicron tally now stands at 73

New Delhi, Dec 16: Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal reported their first cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus on Wednesday, taking India's tally to 73.

In West Bengal, a seven-year-old boy, resident of Murshidabad district who recently returned from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad, tested positive for Omicron. The boy had recently returned to Bengal from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad.

A 24-year-old woman from Kenya and a 23-year-old man from Somalia, who landed in Hyderabad on December 12, have tested positive for the variant, a Telangana health official said on Wednesday.

In Tamil Nadu, a 47-year-old man who had arrived from Nigeria, along with six of his family members a few days ago, has tested positive for the new variant, marking the first such case in the state.

Maharashtra reported four new cases on Wednesday taking the state's tally to 32. Kerala also reported four more Omicron cases.

So far, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 32, followed by Rajasthan at 17.

Omicron cases have also been reported in Karnataka (3), Gujarat (4), Telangana (2), West Bengal (1), Andhra Pradesh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and Union Territories of Delhi (6) and Chandigarh (1).

The Omicron variant was first detected in India in Bengaluru with two people testing positive for it comprising a South African national of Indian origin and a doctor.