Chennai: Tamil Nadu reported 33 new cases of Omicron on Wednesday after a person who travelled to the state from Nigeria via Doha became the first person to have the new variant of Covid-19.
The overall tally in the country now stands at 269.
Of the 33, 26 cases were reported in Chennai, one in Salem, four in Madurai and, and two in Tiruvanamalai.
Health officials had tracked and tested 89 people, including those associated with the traveller.
According to the Tamil Nadu Health Department, 33 out of 41 samples were diagnosed with Omicron infection.
As a result, the incidence of omicron in Tamil Nadu has increased to 34.
On Wednesday, state health Minister Ma Subramanian said 104 people who arrived in Tamil Nadu from various countries had tested Covid-19 positive to date.
The samples of 82 of them, who were detected with the' gene drop' variant of coronavirus, were sent to the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bengaluru, for genomic sequencing analysis.
Of the total 269 Omicron patients in India, at least 104 have recovered, according to the Health Ministry data. The cases have been detected in 16 states and UTs so far.
Maharashtra has recorded the maximum 65 cases of the new variant followed by Delhi at 64, Tamil Nadu 34, Telangana 24, Karnataka 19, Rajasthan 21, and Kerala 15.
