Maharashtra adds 26 more Omicron cases, tally shoots to 167

Of the fresh cases, the maximum, 11 are from Mumbai, five each from Raigad and Thane, two from Nanded, and one each from Palghar, Pune, and Nagpur districts, with 25 having a history of recent international travel and one patient is a close contact.

 Among the infectees are 14 males and 12 females, 4 are minors, and 19 of those eligible have taken their full vaccination doses.

 While 5 patients are showing Omicron symptoms, the rest 21 are asymptomatic, and of the total 167 cases, 72 afflicted have been cured and discharged after they tested negative, said the state Health Department.

 Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1.

 A total of 26,887 travellers have landed here from the "high risk" countries of which 165 have tested positive and 66 from other countries, with all their reports sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are afflicted by Omicron.

 Besides, 743 samples from field surveys conducted since November 1 have been sent for genomic sequencing with the results of 98 awaited, the officials said.

 The current spread of Omicron is extensive in the state, with the maximum 84 cases in Mumbai, followed by 43 in Pune, 12 in Thane, five each in Raigad, Satara, and Osmanabad, three in Nagpur, two each in Palghar, Nanded, and Aurangabad, and one each in Akola, Latur, Ahmednagar, and Buldhana.

 On the Covid-19 front, the state has been recording a steady spike in cases and even fatalities in the past few days, but there was decline from 1,648 new infections on Sunday to 1,426 Monday, though the fatalities shot up from 17 to 21 and the mortality rate remained steady at 2.12 per cent.

 Mumbai, Pune and Thane remain at the top with the highest number of active cases, which again shot above the 10,000 mark - from 9,813 on Sunday to 10,441 currently in the state, with a recovery rate of 97.66 per cent.