Senior citizen in Rajasthan becomes first Omicron casualty in India

Story by  ATV | Posted by  sabir hussain • 2 Years ago
Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry Luv Agarwal
Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry Luv Agarwal

 

New Delhi

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has ‘technically’ claimed its first victim in India with the death of a senior citizen in Rajasthan, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Technically it is Omicron-related death in Rajasthan. He was an elderly person. The person reportedly had co-morbidities, like diabetes among others," Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said at a press briefing.

According to the Ministry, 108 deaths have been reported so far globally.

"The country has reported 6.3 times increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the last eight days."

ICMR head Dr. Balram Bhargava who also addressed the media said, "Omicron was now the predominant circulating strain in cities and all mass gatherings should be avoided."

According to the ministry, 2,135 cases of Omicron have been reported in the country with Maharashtra registering the maximum cases followed by Delhi.

The ministry has also said that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Gujarat are States of concern where there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases.

"28 districts in the country are reporting more than 10 per cent weekly positivity," the Ministry has said.

On Wednesday, India reported 58,097 fresh COVID cases and 534 deaths while on Tuesday, the country had recorded 37,379 new COVID cases and 124 deaths.