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India reported a total of 70 Omicron cases on Wednesday, with West Bengal and Telangana registering cases for the first time. Of these total 70 cases, Delhi’s Omicron cases increased to eight from six, Maharashtra’s tally jumped from 28 to 32, and a fresh case was registered in West Bengal and two in Telangana, according to the Health Ministry sources.
The two cases in Telangana were that of a Kenyan woman (24) and a Somalian man (23) who tested positive for Omicron. They had arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on December 12. “We sent the samples for testing the same day and found that both tested positive for the new variant. We have tracked them and are in the process of isolating the close contacts and collecting their samples,” said G Srinivasa Rao, Director of Public Health (Telangana).
First case in Bengal
This apart, a seven-year-old child, a native of Murshidabad, who had returned to West Bengal from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad, also tested positive.
The boy, who arrived at the airport on the same day, proceeded to West Bengal after giving his sample. He tested positive and the local officials informed their West Bengal counterparts about it. His parents have, however, tested negative. This is the first case of Omicron strain in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, a declining trend continues nationally in the overall daily Covid cases. On Wednesday, India reported 6,984 Covid cases with 247 deaths in the last 24 hours till 8:00 am, as per the Health Ministry data. The Health Secretary, on Wednesday, reviewed via video conference the status and the preparedness of States/UTs on their medical oxygen devices and systems such as PSA plants, oxygen concentrators and medical gas pipeline system
According to the Centre, as of now, a total of 3,236 PSA plants have been installed in the country from various sources, with a total commissioned oxygen capacity of 3,783 MT. Moreover, 1,14,000 oxygen concentrators are being provided to the States under PM CARES and Emergency Response & Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II.
In the review meeting, Bhushan underlined that ECRP-II funds have been sanctioned to them for the installation of 958 liquid medical oxygen (LMO) storage tanks and medical gas pipeline systems at 1,374 hospitals. The States were directed to increase domestic oxygen production capacity and ensure the speedy completion, installation and commissioning of medical gas pipelines at government hospitals.
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