Bhubaneswar: Four more cases of Omicron were reported in Odisha on Sunday, taking the total number of Omicron cases in the state to eight.
The detection of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been reported to the State Health Department by the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneswar, which is conducting the genome sequencing of the positive cases of coronavirus infection.
Odisha had on December 21 reported the first two cases of Omicron with two foreign returnees (Nigeria and Qatar) testing positive for the variant.
On December 23, two more cases of the Omicron were detected in the state. The two had reportedly returned from Nigeria. Both of them are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar and their condition is said to be stable.
With India experiencing a steady surge in the Omicron cases every day, a total of 422 cases of the new variant of coronavirus have been recorded so far across 16 states and UTs.
The new variant, Omicron, first identified in southern Africa, contains a large number of spike-protein mutations, suggesting re-infection risk and potential vaccine resistance.
