Omicron Variant: Govt steps up vigil after 100 foreign returnees go untraceable in Maharashtra

Omicron Variant Latest News Updates: Two fully vaccinated persons who returned from abroad last month have tested positive for the new Covid-19 Omicron variant in Mumbai on Monday, the first cases of the variant found in the metropolis, taking India’s total tally of the new coronavirus variant to 23.

With Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV2, the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak by February with cases likely to be reaching up to 1-1.5 lakh a day in the country, but it will be milder than the second wave, Manindra Agarwal, IIT scientist involved in the mathematical projection of trajectory of COVID-19, said.

Several states have stepped up vaccination, surveillance and containment measures as India detected over 20 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus. Amid growing concerns over the new variant, a parliamentary committee has recommended that the efficacy of Covid vaccines must be evaluated and concerns with regards to the new strain developing immunoescape mechanism critically addressed.

As the country records over 20 cases of Omicron in just three days while several COVID-19-positive samples undergo genome testing, as many as 50 per cent people want the central government to suspend all Vande Bharat flights coming from countries where 20 or more Omicron cases have been detected, according to a survey.

News Credit: India TV News