Omicron fourth case detected in India: 33-year old Maharashtra man infected by new Covid variant

Mumbai, Dec 4: A man from the Kalyan Dombivli municipal area near Mumbai in Maharashtra who had arrived at the Delhi airport from South Africa via Dubai before flying to Mumbai has tested positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the state health department said on Saturday.

This is the first case of the variant in Maharashtra and the fourth in the country. While two cases of the Covid-19 variant has been detected in Karnataka on Thursday, one case has been reported in Gujarat on Saturday.

The man, a resident of Thane, had arrived in Delhi on November 23 and had given his samples for COVID-19 testing at the Delhi airport. He had then taken a flight to Mumbai, official sources said in Delhi.

"The 33-year-old passenger arrived in Mumbai on November 24 from Capetown, South Africa through Dubai and Delhi. He hasn't taken any vaccine. 12 of his high-risk contacts and 23 of the low-risk contacts have been traced and all have been tested negative for COVID19," Maharashtra Health Department said.

"He came with a group of four people. We are tracing and tracking them. Their RT-PCR test as well as genome sequencing will be done as well," Maharashtra health department director Dr Archana Patil told PTI in Mumbai.

The person is currently at a Medical Isolation Facility in Mumbai.

The new variant, which has triggered fears of the third wave of Covid-19 in India, was reported to the WHO by South Africa.