Omicron: 5 More Cases Detected in Karnataka, 4 in Hyderabad, India's Tally at 87

Five more cases of the Omicron were detected in Karnataka, while four more were detected in Hyderabad on Thursday.

COVID-19 Omicron variant. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Five more cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 were detected in Karnataka on Thursday, 16 December, the state's Health Minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet. With that, the number of Omicron cases in the state rose to eight. Meanwhile, four more people tested positive for Omicron in Hyderabad, taking the total number of cases of the variant to seven in Telangana.

India's current Omicron case tally stands at 87.

Karnataka State Health Department said that all of the five new Omicron positive patients were fully vaccinated against COVID, reported ANI.

Earlier, one new case of Omicron was detected in Gujarat, while four more cases were detected in Delhi, taking the capital's tally to 10.

Out of the 10, one patient had been discharged, while nine were still admitted at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told news agency ANI that none of them was a severe case.

After Wednesday’s cases, the national tally now stands at 77, as per data compiled across states.

Delhi also reported 85 new COVID-19 cases, its highest since 31 July. The positivity rate at 0.15 percent was also the highest since 28 June.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra has the largest Omicron tally, after it recorded four more cases of the new variant on Wednesday, taking its toll to 32.

It is followed by Rajasthan with 17 cases of the new variant, Delhi with 10 such infections, Karnataka eight, Telangana seven, Kerala with five, Gujarat with four, and one each in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Tamil Nadu.

Both, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu had reported their first Omicron cases on Wednesday.

In Tamil Nadu, a 47-year-old man who had arrived from Nigeria had tested positive for the Omicron variant.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), Omicron cases will soon exceed Delta and become the dominant variant globally, while the authorities continue to determine exactly how contagious the variant is and how effective existing vaccines are against it.